LID And NBA News
BY KIM GLASSCOCK
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In keeping with the Niwot Local Improvement District’s newly adopted strategic plan and funding categories, members of the LID advisory committee agreed to take on paying the electric costs for the street lights along Second Avenue in Old Town Niwot and the breaker boxes on Second Avenue and near Whistle Stop Park.

At the Jan. 3 meeting, LID members unanimously approved a funding request from the Niwot Business Association to reimburse the NBA for $716.90, which was the electricity cost in 2011.
“I think this is an appropriate expense for the LID to pay, and it falls into our infrastructure budget category,” said LID member Jim Eastman.

LID members also agreed that it was appropriate for the LID, instead of the NBA, to pay electricity costs for Whistle Stop Park.

“Whistle Stop Park is owned by the non-profit Niwot Cultural Arts Association, and it is pretty much community land used for public purposes that lies within the LID boundaries,” said LID co-chair Carrie Wise. “That expense is legitimate too.”

“We already pay for landscaping maintenance at Whistle Stop Park, and I see this as the same kind of infrastructure expense,” agreed LID member Euvaldo Valdez.

Gateway Sign

LID members also discovered that there may be a small setback in getting the gateway sign project underway. NBA Historic Projects subcommittee Chair Tim Wise told LID members that the contractor selected for the project would like some of the money paid up front to cover materials costs. However, even though the funds have been allocated to the project by the LID, the funds are Boulder County tax funds and “the county only pays for completed work,” Wise said.

“This is a small business, and some of the work is going to even smaller subcontractors, so it is hard for them all to find up-front funding. They are used to having jobs where a portion of the payment is made at the start of the work,” Wise said.

“It is tough for small businesses to wait to be paid until the end of a large job, especially in this economy,” Wise added.
LID member Carrie Wise suggested that the NBA and LID could look for a business, nonprofit or individual who would be willing to front the funds and be repaid when the county funds became available. “With some creativity maybe we can get this done,” she said.

LID member Harris Faberman suggested that the NBA talk with the Bank of the West branch in Niwot about securing a bridge loan or line of credit. “That could be the answer,” he said.
At the Jan. 10 Niwot Business Association meeting, LID member and NBA
President Tony Santelli of the Niwot Tavern reported that he had met with officials from Bank of the West about securing a line of credit to be used by the NBA.

“They are interested, so we will continue to discuss this,” he said.

NBA

Election of officers was on the agenda for the Jan. 10 NBA meeting, but it had to be postponed due to lack of a quorum. NBA membership has risen significantly in the past year, and now stands at 93.
“We are thrilled with the membership push from Linda and Chuck Klueber of Niwot Interiors,” NBA Vice President Dan Hawk of Edward Jones said.”
But now we need more members in attendance to make a quorum for voting, so we will be sure to gather proxy votes so we can hold officer elections in February.”

Chuck Klueber told the group that the goal is to push NBA membership to 100 during 2012. Regular memberships cost $100; Gold level memberships are $200.

Summer Concert Series

Liz Darling and Mike Anfinson of Ni-Wot Prairie Productions updated NBA members about their efforts to rename the summer concert series formerly known as Rhythm on the Rails.” We have received about 30 suggested names,” Darling said. “The next step is to work with the NCAA to narrow that list.”

Ni-Wot Prairie Productions, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, was chosen to take over the event from Boulder Creek Events and will be running the concert series this year.

Darling said the group is putting together business sponsorship opportunities, lining up bands, and hiring sound technicians and an emcee. They also have arranged to have Left Hand Brewery as the vendor for the beer tent, and are pursuing food vendors. The 12-concert series will begin the third week of June.

This summer’s concert series will strive to be a zero-waste event, Anfinson said. Boulder County awarded a grant to Niwot to purchase recycling and compost bins, which will be used at the concerts. Niwot resident Kai Abelkis, who is the sustainability coordinator for Boulder Community Hospital, is lending his expertise to the event to help it become more green.

“We are working to make sure that the infrastructure is in place and that our vendors are educated about the sustainability goals,” Abelkis said.

Darling added that NPP is working to create a “concierge bicycle area” for people who want to bicycle to the concerts and avoid having to find parking.

“We need a bicycling enthusiast volunteer to work with us to get this going,” she told the NBA.

Snow Removal

While letting the sun melt snow and ice may be more sustainable, it doesn’t always work. That was why NBA member Pat Murphy of Niwot Realty asked the NBA to consider setting aside some emergency funds to pay for ice and snow removal on the south side of Second Avenue.
“The county relies on the sun to melt snow and ice, and that side of the street doesn’t get much sun since it is north-facing and the buildings block the light,” she said. “The street can be very icy, and the snow doesn’t melt well from the sidewalks in front of unoccupied buildings either. It can really be a problem.”

Euvaldo Valdez of the Left Hand Corner Professional Building suggested that the NBA get some informal quotes from snow removal firms “to get an idea of how much funding might be needed” before deciding whether to commit NBA funds.

One Action, One Boulder

Laura Skaggs of the Niwot Historical Society told both LID and NBA members about a social equity and diversity program sponsored by Boulder County and the City of Boulder that uses the life of Chief Niwot to help illustrate its goals. The program, “One Action, One Boulder,” kicked off on Martin Luther King Day and will run into November.

Program events with a tie to Chief Niwot include a Boulder History Museum exhibit on Chief Niwot, facilitated conversations and lectures about equity and inclusion, an improvisational theater production by Playback Theater West that draws from learning about Chief Niwot along with the community’s experiences with inclusion and exclusion, and a multimedia theater production “Rocks, Karma, Arrow” which will explore Boulder area history through the lens of race and class.

The program also has chosen “Chief Left Hand” by Margaret Coel as the One Book, One Boulder reading selection in 2012.

Skaggs said that she is working with the group to bring the lectures and theater presentations to Niwot, and said copies of “Chief Left Hand” will be for sale by the Niwot Historical Society. She added that the Niwot Community Association is exploring ways to incorporate parts of the program into the annual Nostalgia Day celebration.

“Niwot needs to have a role in this program,” Skaggs said.

Mural

Mural artist Denise Chamberlain of Magic Brush Arts told NBA members that the Spirit of Niwot mural on the side of the Excel Electric building has had digital film applied on the windows of the building that are part of the mural.
“I took photos of the painting on the windows and then had it digitized,” Chamberlain explained. “It’s like the photo film you see on bus windows – it lets light in and allows the people inside to see out.”

Green Business

Ron Fox of Green Planet Cleaners attended the meeting as a guest. He said all the dry cleaning is done using strictly non-toxic, environmentally-friendly products. “You could safely water your tomatoes with our cleaning solution,” he said.