by Donna Marek, Cultural Affairs Reporter

UPDATE: August 4 11:00 am
It Had to Happen
The City of Boulder will not renew the Xcel Energy Franchise Agreement according to a 6-2 vote at the Council meeting last night. City Manager Jane Brautigam’s stand was like a song ” let the contract go.”
Voters will be asked to vote in November for a special tax which, of course, would be passed on to consumers using Xcel energy. Looks like yellow shirt

Boulder Yellow Shirts Took the Street Corners Tonight!

All you have to do is put a piece of coal in your stocking…twirl around three times…and make a wish that Xcel Energy will go away and the City of Boulder will take over the community energy problems!   Oh, my goodness!  What did I say?

Well, on Tuesday, August 3 at about 5:30pm in front of Boulder’s Municipal Building, a crowd of supporters for the City’s taking on the energy issue, buying Xcel energy and making it environmentally politically correct took place with about 200 people on the corners of Broadway and Canyon.

I talked to two gentlemen who support the City’s stance.  Tyler said, “I support the city for not renewing the Xcel franchise.”  He said he was supporting renewable energy as an option.   While Ken said he saw Boulder aggressively decreasing the carbonizing  “but not as much as we’d like for Xcel.  This is a “groundswell”  with two paths,” he said.  One is with Xcel committing to clean energy and the second looks at monopolizing energy!    Anyway, there were children, parents, grandparents and they even held a press conference.

When I asked these two supporters about the City’s already stretched budget, Ken said “The City can afford it because citizens are already paying for it!”

So…

Boulder Supporters of City’s Stand on Xcel Energy and clean energy

It was a lovely, peaceful gathering with horns tooting and people waving signs.  The weather was phenomenal!

I dare not say more!