Briefs | County ponies up sewer funds

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County ponies up sewer funds

Boulder County officials have agreed to cover cost overruns associated with the installation of a new sewer system in Eldorado Springs.

Boulder Weekly published an account of the standoff between residents and county officials over the cost overruns on Sept. 2. Eldorado Springs property owners insisted that they should only be charged the $1.8 million they approved in a 2004 ballot measure, because extra costs were caused primarily by county mismanagement of the project. They also claimed that their $1.8-million price tag should be reduced by the $400,000 in grant money they received for the project. County officials had agreed to pay for the portion of the overruns they felt responsible for, but argued that it would be inappropriate to use additional county taxpayer money to benefit only a tiny subset of the county’s population.

In the end, it looks like the $1.8 million won’t be reduced by the $400,000 in grant money, but the county is covering all extra costs above that $1.8 million. In an Oct. 15 letter sent to Eldorado Springs property owners, county project manager Jeffrey Callahan announced that the county will be covering all $276,866 in cost overruns.

A hearing on the tax assessments is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Nov. 16 at the Boulder County Courthouse.

Election session set for Nov. 1

Boulder County Clerk & Recorder Hillary Hall will host an informational session about the general election in Boulder County at 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 1.

The session will be held in the Ballot Processing Center in the Boulder County Clerk’s Office, at 1750 33rd St. in Boulder.

Members of the public, political parties, campaigns and media are invited to attend. Hall will discuss a variety of topics during the session, including ballot processing procedures, audit procedure and election night details. She will also answer questions.

No RSVP is necessary to attend. For more information, call 303-413-7766. or e-mail Vote@VoteBoulder.org.

Group launches FB voter guide

Boulder-based New Era Colorado and the Bus Federation have launched a Facebook voter guide called MyBallot that gives voters a chance to see their online friends’ recommendations before filling out their ballots.

“We know people take cues from their friends and family when it comes time to decipher their ballot,” says Steve Fenberg, executive director of New Era Colorado, which developed MyBallot before working with the Bus Federation to spread it across the country. “We thought harnessing the social connections of Facebook and letting people share their own ballots would prove useful for busy young people.”

The application uses a voter’s ZIP code to prepare a ballot loaded with races for Congress and statewide office, as well as the ballot measures voters will decide on Nov. 2. In addition to a short description of the race and a list of candidates, each race will show the voter’s Facebook friends’ positions.

Once a voter has filled out her ballot, she can submit it, sharing it with her own friends on Facebook.

MyBallot can be found by searching on Facebook or at www.thisismyballot.org.

Coupons for bike lights

It’s the time of year when the days are getting shorter, and local organizations are teaming up for the third annual “Lighten Up! Boulder” campaign to encourage bike riders to equip their bikes for night riding.

GO Boulder/City of Boulder, the University of Colorado and local merchants have joined forces for the campaign, which highlights the importance of using a bike light for night cycling and encourages bike light use by providing discounts (10 percent to 30 percent) on bike light accessories at participating merchants.

Coupons can be printed from GOBoulder.net and redeemed at one of the 15 different retailers listed on the coupon. They are valid through Nov. 19.

“Cycling without a light at night is a $50 fine,” said GO Boulder Bike/ Pedestrian Transportation Planner Marni Ratzel. “We hope that through this campaign more cyclists will put lights on their bikes, making the Boulder community safer for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers.”

Input sought on Boulder plan

The City of Boulder is seeking community input on changes to the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan, which is the guiding document for development, redevelopment and social and environmental policies for the Boulder Valley.

The plan will be a focus topic at the next three Boulder Matters meetings: 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 28, at the East Boulder Community Center, 5660 Sioux Drive; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6, at Foothills Elementary School, 1001 Hawthorne Ave.; and 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 10, at the West Senior Center, 909 Arapahoe Ave.

Participants will have the opportunity to use clicker technology to instantly register their preferences during the presentation, as well as opportunities to provide written and verbal feedback to city and county staff. Input gathered at these meetings will be used to develop potential updates to the comprehensive plan, which will then go to through a review process with the city’s planning board, the county’s planning commission, city council and the county commissioners in spring 2011. For more information, go to www.bouldervalleycompplan.net, or contact Chris Meschuk at 303-441-4293.

Business planning series offered

The Boulder Green Building Guild has teamed up with the Boulder Small Business Development Center to offer local businesses an opportunity to attend a low-cost, comprehensive fivesession business planning series.

Sponsored by Boulder County and Colorado Lending Source, the series aims to assist small retrofit and green building businesses, especially Energy Retrofit and Weatherization businesses who plan to participate in Boulder County’s BetterBuildings program.

“One of our goals for the residential BetterBuildings program is to stimulate our local economy. We want to ensure that our local contractors and building professionals are well positioned to take advantage of this stimulus money and be successful once this program ends in three years. We think this business development program will help our local businesses make profitable and sustainable business decisions and continue to play an integral role in the health of the county’s economy,” said Ann Livingston, Sustainability Coordinator for Boulder County.

The series starts Wednesday, Nov.

10, and ends Saturday, Dec. 4. For more details on times and cost, visit www. bgbg.org.

A $100 rebate will be given for completion of a Business Plan at the end of the series.