NCA honors Storz, Breyer and Anderson

Three “absolutely outstanding volunteers” were honored by the Niwot Community Association at its annual meeting April 19.

Heidi Storz, Julie Breyer and Neal Anderson were recognized for their service to the organization and Niwot. “We are so appreciative for everything these people have done for both the NCA and the town,” said NCA President Dick Piland. “They really exemplify service and the giving spirit of our town.”

Storz served on the NCA board, as vice president and as president of the NCA. She organized and coordinated the annual Niwot Cleanup Day for several years, and also worked with Boulder County to coordinate volunteers and hold work days on Niwot area trails and open space projects.

Breyer served on the NCA board and as the board’s events chairperson. She has been integral in organizing and running the town’s July 4 parade, which the NCA took responsibility for in 2013, and has continued to volunteer with the parade after ending her term on the NCA board.

Anderson served as a board member and as president of the NCA for eight years. He helped to guide the NCA as it became more active in Niwot after it had been dormant for a time.

Trails work in Niwot

Niwot residents should be able to enjoy an improved trail from Niwot High School through Overbrook to Niwot Road by the end of the summer, Boulder County Parks and Open Space project coordinator Brent Wheeler told NCA annual meeting attendees. The project improves the current informal “social” trail that runs between two ditches westerly from the Dry Creek Trail at the northwest corner of Niwot High School, through the Overbrook neighborhood, to Niwot Road near Elm Street.

The NCA requested that the trail be improved. It will be made four feet wide and surfaced with crusher fine gravel, according to Wheeler. The cost is estimated at about $25,000.

Niwot resident Elizabeth O’Neill asked if Boulder County would be including any additional trash cans along trails. She suggested that a trash can is needed near the Niwot High School trails.

“On that side of Niwot Road there just aren’t any trash cans,” O’Neill said. “Carrying a bag of dog doody for four miles on a walk with your dog doesn’t really encourage good pet stewardship, so I think we should ask the county to put in more trash cans.”

Wheeler said he would pass along her concerns and Piland encouraged O’Neill to bring the idea to the NCA board so that board members can add their voices to the request.

Lefthand Valley Grange Park improvements

In June, Niwot residents will also see the start of work to improve Lefthand Valley Grange Park at 83rd Street and Niwot Road, according to Wheeler. The project includes replacing a culvert under 83rd Street, increasing the number of parking spaces at the park from 30 to 48, as well as adding a plumbed restroom facility and an information kiosk. In addition, new ADA ramps and walkways will be built. In response to a question, Wheeler said plans call for the restroom to be heated and open year round.

Wheeler added that if all goes according to plan work should be completed in October, but any delays could push the project’s completion until early 2018.

Boulder County also plans to construct an off-street route for the Longmont-Boulder trail through Lefthand Valley Grange Park in winter or spring 2018, Wheeler said.

Open Space summer tour

Millions of years ago the Niwot area was under a large shallow sea, which has left behind traces of its existence and fossils of some of its ocean dwellers. NCA Open Space and Trails Chair Craig Rahenkamp told NCA members that the foothills sandstone formations near Niwot contain some fossils and ophiomorpha, or the burrows of small crustaceans that lived in the near-shore environment. The area also has a rare lichen species.

Because the sandstone areas are very fragile, access to the area has been blocked. However, the NCA is working with Boulder County open space to have a volunteer naturalist guide one or two small groups on tours of the area this summer, Rahenkamp said.