Niwot LID talks maintenance, Link building and taxes

The Local Improvement District’s (LID) March meeting was an extensive one, as it covered several funding requests and discussed important new business.

Chuck Klueber, Niwot Business Association (NBA) streetscape representative, attended the meeting on behalf of the NBA to request funds for snow removal, tree maintenance, district maintenance and repairs, and event banners.

The funding request for snow removal was $1,500, which would cover all of 2016 and include the removal of snow along Second Avenue. The snow is to be cleared of parking spaces and dumped at the ends of the street. However, LID members were concerned about the large piles of snow that take weeks to melt, and are eye-sores to shoppers.

LID members asked if the snow could be completely removed from the area, but the concern was how long that would take and how much extra it would cost. The board decided to approve the request, and asked Klueber to look into complete snow removal.

Klueber moved on to asking for $1,450 for the maintenance of the trees along Second Avenue and the tree carvings and Christmas tree on Niwot Road for 2016. The funds would cover deep water feeding in the winter, and fertilization of the trees in the spring and fall.

One LID member asked how much longer they would have to fund the live tree maintenance, and the general consensus was for five to seven years. LID members agreed this was important to keep the street looking nice, and approved the request.

The next request was for district maintenance and repairs, which Klueber asked $2,250 for. He said these funds would cover weatherizing the trees (which is a fixed cost), street lamp and bulb replacements, weed removal and lamp post touch ups, and miscellaneous repairs—all of which would be as needed.

LID members were concerned with the vagueness of the miscellaneous repairs, and moved to amend that portion of the request. They approved the funding request, with an amendment to specify miscellaneous repairs to the sprinkling system, graffiti cleanup, watering machines, street cleaning and lamp post maintenance.

Klueber’s last funding request was $1,400 for event banners. The money would include maintenance for banners along Second Avenue and in Cottonwood Square, and possible new banners to replace old ones. He said the NBA has to design and purchase new banners, and put them up and take them down three times a year, which isn’t cheap. The request was approved by the LID.

The final funding request was from Bruce Warren, who spoke on behalf of the Niwot Cultural Arts Association (NCAA), and asked for $12,575 for parking and fencing improvements for the Niwot Children’s Park. Warren said this cost will benefit the community and business district, once the park is open. The parking area will consist of 12 to 13 spaces, with one dedicated handicap spot.

The funds also will cover bumper blocks, a bike rack that will look like a giant tricycle, and fencing around the park. Some LID members asked if this could be done cheaper through Boulder County, and if the NCAA would come back to ask for more funds. Warren said the NCAA has enough money now to do everything that’s essential and hasn’t considered what they may ask future funds for. The LID approved the request.

Anne Postle gave an update on the Link Building. She said that the planning commission voted to recommend approval her proposal to county commissioners at its Feb. 17 meeting, with some conditions. Postle said the only requirement she doesn’t agree with is including an electric vehicle charging station in the parking lot. The planning commission modified the requirement to include options for wiring for the station, or for the LID to finance a community charging station.

LID members agreed the Link building is not an appropriate place for a charging station, and this burden should not be placed on just one business owner. Postle said her proposal goes before the commissioners on March 31, at 9 a.m., and she hopes they will see her side of the situation. The LID approved a resolution against the charging station to present to the commissioners; however, Postle said she will do whatever it takes to continue with this project.

The last item of new business was the issue of the Niwot Market not collecting LID sales taxes on food sales. Attorney Bruce Warren, representing the Niwot Market, explained that “the market has never collected LID sales tax [which is one percent] or any other sales tax on food items, believing that food was exempt from sales taxes based on the language of the resolution which formed the LID.”

Now, the Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR) is saying the market needs to reimburse the LID in back taxes, which could be as much as $100,000. LID members said they never expected money from the market on food sales tax, and believe this would hurt the business and customers. The LID approved a resolution to support the Niwot Market’s position that the CDOR is wrong for saying the market is responsible for collecting LID sales tax on food.