Community Kudos

Week of March 3, 2025

Midterm Check-in

Thank you to the city staff for an excellent midterm check-in last week! It never ceases to amaze me how much our extraordinary staff accomplishes in a year. They also came up with a very fun trivia game to showcase the day-to-day work of running the city (none of us received a passing grade). You can download a summary of staff's work on our 2024-2025 Council Priorities and the Citywide Strategic Plan here and watch the recording here.

30th Street Conceptual Design Alternatives

Congratulations to the Transportation staff for evaluating the conceptual design alternatives for the North 30th Street Preliminary Design Project! Staff completed 15 engagement activities, including meeting community members at local events, having pop-ups at local businesses, and leading neighborhood discussions. They invite everyone to view the early results, learn how the project team incorporated community input, and provide feedback on the evaluation results through various events later this month. Learn more here.

Food Tax Rebates updates for 2025

The City Council approved changes to the Food Tax Rebate Program last month, enabling the city staff to implement process improvements this year. The city has operated this program since 1967 to help lessen the financial burden on lower-income community members for sales tax paid on food items. The application period opens in April and provides income-qualified individuals and families who resided in Boulder for the entire 2024 calendar year with $106 or $325, respectively. Learn more here.

Week of February 24, 2025

10,000 Community Assembly invitations sent out

Congratulations to the 10,000 community members invited to apply to participate in the Boulder Valley's first Community Assembly. The Community Assembly will consider how to create neighborhoods where everything you need is a 15-minute walk, bike, or roll away. They will help plan how these neighborhoods should look and work and think about where to build, how people get around, and what services they need. You can apply here if you don't live in Boulder Valley but are working or studying here. Learn more at an informational webinar on February 24.

City and County challenge fossil fuel companies

Boulder County and the City of Boulder started a case against ExxonMobil Corporation and several Suncor entities in 2018 to hold them financially responsible for their contributions to the climate crisis. The city and county say these companies knew long ago that using fossil fuels would hurt the environment, but they sold them anyway. After spending five years working to keep the case out of the federal courts and in Colorado, the city and county's persistence paid off: they argued their case before the Colorado Supreme Court earlier this month.

City departments share 2024 project highlights

The Transportation and Mobility department, Climate Initiatives team, and Stormwater and Flood Management Utility recently shared summaries of their 2024 work. It's incredible how much work the city gets done in a year! Thanks to the teams for summarizing and sharing their recent work with the community.

Week of February 17, 2025

Hands-Only CPR Training

Thank you to Boulder Fire-Rescue, American Medical Response, Boulder Community Health, and Intermountain Health for free Hands-Only CPR training for community members. Our first responders do everything they can to help people survive cardiac arrest, and survival rates go up when bystanders are trained and respond in the minutes before first responders arrive. Each training is capped at 14 participants and is open to community members ages 18 and older. Visit boulderfirerescue.eventbrite.com/ to see training dates and sign up.

 CU's Balch Fieldhouse courts available to the public

Thank you to Boulder Parks and Recreation, the Boulder Tennis Association, BOCO Pickleball Club, and everyone who contributed to the city's 2024 Court System Plan. The city is now beginning to implement aspects of the plan, including a partnership with CU Boulder that opened the Balch Fieldhouse Tennis courts to the public last month. Also included in the plan are new and refurbished courts at East Boulder Community Park, Tom Watson Park, and Chautauqua Park.

Marshall Mesa coal seam mitigation complete

Thank you to the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety (DRMS) for excavating the burning and smoldering coal beneath the Marshall Mesa Trailhead. Once they finish backfilling and grading the area, Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) will construct a new trailhead to enhance visitor experience and safety. While the Marshall Mesa trailhead remains closed during construction, most Marshall Mesa trails are open (see OSMP closures here). DRMS is planning a press event at 11 am on Thursday, Feb. 20, at the Marshall Mesa Trailhead to mark the completion of the mitigation work.

Week of February 10, 2025

A Boulder Today

Congratulations to the City of Boulder and Boulder County on releasing A Boulder Today. This public report gives a picture of our community now, focusing on the city's Sustainability, Equity, and Resilience (SER) framework. It's the first step in the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan update. Knowing what's happening in Boulder Valley and beyond will help us make better policies for the future.

UFCW Local 7 standing up for all of us

Thank you to the UFCW Local 7 workers on the picket lines this week, taking a stand against unfair labor practices. They are standing in the cold from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. for two weeks to create more safety for themselves and their customers. Read about what they are asking for here and read more about why their strike matters and what you can do to support them here.

Council's first executive session

Thank you to voters for allowing the Council to convene in executive sessions, and to city staff for helping our first executive session come together so seamlessly. Council no longer has to meet individually or in groups of two to get legal advice, increasing efficiency and transparency. Executive sessions enable Councilmembers to hear each other's questions, free up more time for the City Attorney and her team, and ensure the public knows when the Council is having these meetings.

Week of February 3, 2025

CAAAS Day Black History Month Celebration

Thank you to Professor Reiland Rabaka and all the students, staff, and faculty at CU Boulder's Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS) for marking the start of Black History Month with a celebration of "the vibrant history and cultural expressions of the African and African American communities." Music, dance, poetry, food, and speeches by CU and local leaders brought the community together Saturday afternoon.

Groundhog Day

Thank you to Open Space and Mountain Parks for keeping up Boulder's Groundhog Day tradition. This year, Rocky Mountain Rescue brought Flatiron Freddy to the annual event at the Chautauqua Ranger Cottage after he slipped on some ice while not wearing his spikes on a snow-covered trail. Watch the video here if you missed seeing Flatiron Freddy predict another six weeks of winter.

Open Letter to the Community

Thank you to the city staff for coordinating an Open Letter to the Boulder Community from the City Manager and all nine City Councilmembers to affirm our commitment to being a city that values our differences. As we note in the letter:

Week of January 27, 2025

Second-hand stores

Boulder has two more places to find second-hand goods: an expanded Goodwill Colorado store at 1741 28th Street and CU Boulder's new surplus store at 3300 Walnut Street (read stories about the two locations here and here). Mayor Pro Tem Folkerts, Councilmember Winer, and I tested the city's new snow and ice response getting to the Goodwill grand opening during last weekend's snowstorm. We enjoyed meeting Goodwill employees from across the Front Range and fellow thrift store aficionados.

Week of January 20, 2025

Extreme Weather Shelter

Thank you to the Housing and Human Services staff and local partners for setting up the Extreme Weather Shelter this weekend. Although these shelters might seem last-minute, they follow a set plan that requires lots of work before extreme weather hits.

An Extreme Weather Shelter opens when the National Weather Service predicts dangerous weather for at least three nights, with very low temperatures, heavy precipitation, or strong winds. As soon as extreme weather is forecasted, the city manager and HHS staff work with disaster management and partners. They check city funds, prepare a city building for shelter, arrange transportation, and gather staff. After the extreme weather, they return the facility to its usual use.

The shelter helped over 60 people this weekend, and local nonprofits served many more. Thanks to all the city staff, nonprofits, and volunteers for keeping people safe during dangerous weather.

Community Connectors-in-Residence

The Community Connectors-in-Residence program started in 2018 before I joined the City Council. It aims to improve city decisions by including everyone's voices. Community Connectors don't make policy or funding decisions but give feedback to ensure decision-makers hear from more people.

This program is a big step toward making our city welcoming for everyone. The Connectors are excellent at their work. In 2024, they led sessions to build community skills, helped people understand local government, and shared community concerns. They gave feedback on city projects like e-bike vouchers and snow removal. They helped explain the city budget and helped decision-makers consider ways to increase affordable housing and economic opportunities.

It's incredible how the Connectors work to change systems while dealing with past and present biases themselves. I am thankful for their leadership, the support of city staff, and the community's backing of their efforts. Read more about some of their recent work here.

Boulder Reporting Lab interview with Wildland Fire Division Chief

Last week, Boulder Reporting Lab's Brooke Stephenson published an interview with Wildland Fire Division Chief Brian Oliver. It is outstanding journalism and exemplifies the truthful, courageous, fact-based reporting we will need to combat all the crises we face in 2025. I particularly appreciated this dose of reality:

Fire is the only natural disaster where humans are arrogant enough to think we can change the outcome...We don’t send a battalion of troops down to Florida when the hurricane is coming to turn the hurricane around. We know it’s a natural disaster. We evacuate everybody and then go back and see where we can clean up. 

As community members, we seem to believe that if we mitigate hard enough, we can eliminate the possibility of wildfires. This assumption seems incorrect, especially in a hotter, drier, more extreme climate.

As the most flood-prone city in the state, we would never assume we could stop a flood. Instead, we incorporate flooding into our city planning and work to minimize its impacts.

Reading this interview has me wondering:

• How might our views about wildfire prevention change if we assume wildfires will eventually destroy portions of our city?
• What is the point of diminishing returns in prevention?
• Should we be more proactive in planning for recovery?

Week of January 13, 2025

2025 State of the Urban Forest Report

Thanks to Boulder Parks & Recreation (BPR) staff for the informative and actionable 2025 State of the Urban Forest report. While some neighborhoods have maintained their tree canopy, others are losing trees due to the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and other pests, severe weather events, and development. The 2018 Urban Forest Strategic Plan  (UFSP) identified a $500,000 funding gap in expanding and protecting our urban canopy. This gap continues to grow even as more canopy is at risk, with up to 25% of it threatened by EAB alone.

You can help with these actions:

• Make sure trees on your property are watered and cared for.
• Watch for and address invasive pests, especially the spotted lanternfly, Asian longhorned beetle, and the spongy moth.
• Plant and help new trees thrive.
• Advocate for tree planting, maintenance, and protection.
• Request a free street tree for your public rights-of-way!
• Become a tree tender with the PLAY Boulder Foundation Tree Trust.

Downtown Boulder Gate Expansion

Congratulations to city staff and partners who kick off construction for the Downtown Boulder Station Gate Expansion Project this week! Staff and previous Councils have been working on this project for many years.

The schematic below shows what is changing. Improvements include:

• Five new bus gates will accommodate existing and future transit services.
• Wider sidewalks around bus gates and ADA improvements.
• Pedestrian shelters, trash receptacles, and bike racks.
• Signage, striping, and urban design treatments.
• New landscaping and trees to replace trees removed in conjunction with this project.

During construction, 14th Street and all parking lots with access from 14th Street should remain open to all travel modes, with some sidewalk, parking, and single-lane closures. If you're parking downtown and want to avoid construction, find alternative parking lots on the city's interactive parking map. Crews will complete construction this summer.

Boulder Fire-Rescue sends crew to assist with LA fires

Thank you to Boulder Fire-Rescue, which sent a four-person crew and engine last week to join other Colorado fire departments in fighting the Los Angeles-area fires. Read more about these mutual aid efforts here. Given our experience with the Marshall Fire, many can empathize with the terror and grief these fires are causing. Many folks also have friends and family members in the LA area, and the fires directly impact some of our university students. If you are looking for ways to help, find a list here.

Week of January 6, 2025

New Fire Station 3

Mayor Pro Tem Folkerts and I recently toured the new fire station on 30th Street. Our city staff's planning and foresight are so impressive! With the help of voters who passed the CCRS tax extension in 2021, staff designed this station with the future in mind. In the coming decades, Fire Station 3 will continue to be the busiest in our city, requiring more bays for emergency vehicles and more space for emergency personnel than other stations. In addition to being an all-electric, energy-efficient building, the new station:

• is out of the flood zone
• houses fire administration under one roof
• reduces response times
• serves as the primary training facility for Boulder Fire
• offers meeting space for community use, and
• will accommodate the increased need for services for 50-60 years.

Well done, team!

Boulder's first Community Assembly

City staff have been busy preparing for the city's first Community Assembly, which is part of updating the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan (BVCP). In a Community Assembly, randomly chosen, demographically representative community members learn about and solve community issues together to make policy suggestions.

The Community Assembly's focus will be "15-minute neighborhoods," where people can reach most daily needs within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. The group will advise on the best ways to make this happen in Boulder. Invitations will go out in March, member selection will take place in April, and meetings will take place from May to October.

See the video below for more information on how Community Assemblies work.

New Valmont Road Multi-Use Path

A new multi-use path near Valmont Road will connect 61st Street to the pedestrian bridge and path at South Boulder Creek. City leaders identified this path in the 1980s as a crucial missing link for walking, biking, and rolling between Gunbarrel and Boulder.

Thanks to city staff and the partnership of Boulder County, the Regional Transportation District, and nearby property owners, the project will create a 10-foot-wide path, signage, signals, and a crosswalk on 63rd Street.

Construction starts January 6 and will finish by summer, weather permitting. Nearby roads and paths will stay open, and construction crews will work to minimize travel disruptions. Find more details on the project page.