Preserving history this month
At the May 3 City Council meeting, Mayor Susan Osborne declared May “Historic Preservation Month,” kicking off the city’s involvement in a national celebration titled “Participate in Preservation.”
The keystone event — the Heritage Preservation Awards Celebration — will be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 9, at the Chautauqua Community House. As part of the awards celebration, the Boulder County Heritage Preservation Roundtable will present the “2011 Square Nail Award” to the Haertling family for the preservation of architect Charles Haertling’s legacy. Haertling is best known for the collection of late modernist organic architecture he designed in and around Boulder County.
At the event, the City of Boulder and Boulder County will also acknowledge special preservation projects of the past year.
For a complete list of Boulder County historic preservation events throughout the month, see www.boulderplandevelop.net and click on “Historic Preservation.” For more information about Historic Preservation Month, contact James Hewat at 303- 441-3207.
Waldorf School hosts CSA farm
Shepherd Valley Waldorf School in Niwot has announced a partnership with the Boulder County Farmer Cultivation Center (BCFCC), an organization that encourages and assists young farmers in Boulder County through internships, trainings, workshops and mentoring. The BCFCC is a project of the Everybody Eats! initiative by the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center.
To support hands-on training, the BCFCC will operate an organic vegetable farm at the school and offer a CSA to the school community.
In honor of the partnership with the BCFCC, the school’s annual May Faire celebration, scheduled for May 7 at 9:30 a.m., will include a blessing of the school’s land, a ribbon-cutting and a “barn-raising” of the hoop house.
Tours of the farm and school will be available. Families and individuals are encouraged to bring picnics, kites and frisbees to join in the celebration.
New group to focus on city repairs
The City of Boulder has appointed a 16-member committee of stakeholders to serve as advisors on how the city should deal with its backlog of maintenance projects.
The city is following a multi-year plan to finance and complete needed repairs to city facilities after a decade of stagnating revenues and material cost escalation resulted in the sizable backlog.
The first phase of repairs includes using existing city revenue to finance accelerated work to fix significant deficiencies that could pose health and safety risks if left undone. Currently, the city has more than $60 million in unfunded significant deficiencies and approximately $150 million in other unfunded projects.
Boulder has the funds to finance about $60 million for some of those projects next year without raising taxes. The new Capital Investment Strategy stakeholder group was formed to advise staff and City Council about how to prioritize the repair projects.
Dan King, owner of the Boulder Outlook Hotel & Suites, has agreed to serve as chair of the stakeholder group.
For more information, see www.bouldercolorado.gov/cip.
Volunteer in open space
Boulder County’s parks and open space department is offering several volunteer opportunities this month.
On May 8 and May 14, volunteers are needed to help plant flowers at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont. The projects run from 1 to 4 p.m., and the minimum age is 10, with adult supervision. For more information, call Andy Tyler at 303-678- 6193.
In addition, volunteers are needed on May 14 to help repair a fence damaged in the Fourmile fire. The fence, at Bald Mountain, was not completely destroyed, but help is needed to get it back to its original design and purpose. Volunteers will use hand tools and precut logs to repair the fence. The minimum age for this project is 14. The project runs from 8 a.m. to noon. For more information, call Shane Milne at 303-678-6296, ext. 2.
To register for either project, visit www.BoulderCountyOpenSpace.org/ wildwork.
Rebates for energy efficiency
Boulder County residents have a limited time to access new rebates for energy efficiency improvements in their homes.
Through its EnergySmart program, Boulder County is offering up to $1,000 per household in rebates until July 31, or until funds are exhausted. Rebates are for qualifying projects, including insulation, furnace replacement, efficient windows and Energy Star appliances such as refrigerators and dishwashers.
The more than $300,000 in rebates are available to EnergySmart participants only.
More information and registration is available at www.EnergySmartYES.com or by calling 303-544-1000. Rebate payment takes an average of six to eight weeks and will be made to qualifying applicants upon completion of projects, on a first-come, first-served basis.
EnergySmart services and large energy efficiency rebates are also available to businesses in Boulder County.
EnergySmart is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the U.S. Department of Energy’s BetterBuildings grant program and is sponsored by Boulder County, the cities of Boulder and Longmont, Xcel Energy and the Platte River Power Authority.
KGNU marks 33rd anniversary
KGNU Community Radio is hosting its annual Garden Party and celebrating 33 years of community broadcasting on Saturday, May 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The event, which will be held at the radio station offices at 4700 Walnut St. in Boulder, will feature a performance by Magnolia Row, an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast from 9 to 11 a.m. and birthday cake in the afternoon.
The event is a fundraiser for KGNU, and will feature arts and crafts from KGNU volunteers and supporters. To make a plant donation, or for more information, contact Shawna Sprowls at shawna@kgnu.org, or call 303-449- 4885.
Heath holds last town hall
Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, will hold his last town hall meeting of the 2011 legislative session on Saturday, May 7, from 10 a.m. until noon. The meeting will be held in the Community House at Chautauqua, 900 Baseline Road. Sen. Heath will focus on key pieces of legislation and major issues
from the 2011 session, which will end May 11. The meeting is free and open to the public.
Macy’s hosts fundraiser
Macy’s at the Twenty Ninth Street mall in Boulder, along with Superior Liquor, will host a fundraising event to benefit Mental Health Partners (MHP) and its Chinook Clubhouse on May 13.
The event, “Beautiful Art for Beautiful Minds,” will be held from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at Macy’s. Attendees will be able to purchase affordable, highquality artwork donated by local artists.
The restaurants of Twenty Ninth Street will provide complimentary appetizers, Superior Liquor will host the beer and wine, and decadent desserts will be prepared by “Elvis in the Oven.” The event features an art and silent auction with live music performed by Holly and the Husbands. “Breeze,” the featured art piece donated by Chris Rice, will also be on display.
Chinook Clubhouse is a program of Mental Health Partners that promotes social and vocational recovery for adults with mental illness.
Tickets are $50 per person, with discounts available for young professionals and staff of MHP and Chinook.
For more information, contact Kristen Tucker at 303-413-6287 or ktucker@mhpcolorado.org.
Rock for the environment
The Front Range Community College Environmental Club of Boulder County is hosting an all-ages, free music festival called Boulder Valley Eco Rock on Saturday, May 21, in Longmont.
The festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Roosevelt Park, which is on Longs Peak Avenue just west of Main Street in Longmont.
Boulder Valley Eco Rock will raise money to benefit Habitat for Humanity of the St. Vrain Valley, Eco-Cycle and An American Rainbow Foundation, and it will showcase local environmentally friendly businesses and organizations in Boulder County.
Live music will include reggae, rock, bluegrass and pop. Volunteers will staff the low-impact event, collecting and sorting trash prior to recycling and composting. Donations will be accepted by cash and check, and a portion of all vendor proceeds will be donated.
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