NCA proposes community garden at monthly meeting

Work on a proposal to create a community garden space in Niwot is starting, Niwot Community Association board member Diane Zimmermann told NCA members at the Oct. 6 meeting.

"The first step is to survey our NCA members to gauge interest and gather ideas, and then put together a community group made up of Niwot residents and NCA members interested in getting this project started," Zimmermann said. "We see so many Niwot residents with beautiful gardens and we could use their expert advice and help."

Zimmermann said she has begun identifying some potential sites for a community garden, but "it's really early in the process. We really need to put together the community subcommittee to begin to delve into the details and put together a road map for this project."

Interested persons can contact Zimmermann at her NCA email address at [email protected].

The idea of creating a community garden was first proposed to the NCA board in August by Niwot resident Terry Purcell. NCA board members were enthusiastic and Zimmermann and Purcell said they would explore the garden idea.

Veterans Banner Project

About 50 banners honoring current and former service members will soon be hung along Second Avenue and in Cottonwood Square, NCA Treasurer and project head Terry Larsen reported. The Veterans Banner project is in its third year, and Larsen said interest is strong. "We have several new banners this year," she added.

Once the banners are hung, the NCA will publish biographical sketches of the service members and the location of each banner on its website at http://www.niwot.org. The NCA also will hold a ceremony on Sunday, Nov. 7, to acknowledge the contributions of those honored veterans as well as all veterans.

Clean Up Day

Clean Up Day on Sept. 18 was a "positive success'" according to coordinator John Barto. "We had a total of 131 visits and it ran fairly smoothly," he said. "Our volunteers were great and we really appreciated their efforts." NCA board members approved making donations to both the Niwot High School Marching Band and Boy Scout Troop 161 for their help with the event.

More statistics about how much was collected, recycled and composted will be published on the NCA website when available, Barto said. "It takes Boulder County and Western Disposal some time to compile those statistics," he explained.

The event will revert to its usual mid-May date in 2022, he added.

Gargoyles program

Expansion of the existing recycling "Gargoyles" program is being considered, Gargoyle coordinator Julie Breyer told board members. The Gargoyles are middle school and high school volunteers who help at Niwot's summer Rock & Rails concerts to help make the events zero waste. The Gargoyles, who sit atop the compost and recycle bins at the event, came up with the name several years ago.

"We'd like to help at other events, but we have discovered that the events need to be relatively compact and not spread out for it to be successful," Breyer said. She cited the recent Niwot Jazz Festival in Cottonwood Square as a successful event for the Gargoyles program, and added that recruitment for students to take part in the program may expand as some of the older volunteers age out.

In other business, NCA members heard from Eric Bergeson, Biff Warren and Chuck Klueber of the Niwot Future League about the work it has been doing. "We are different from the other organizations in town," Bergeson explained. While the Niwot Business Association focuses on the business areas, the NCA works with community issues, and the Niwot Local Improvement Advisory Committee works with Boulder County to help market Niwot and on multi-year projects, the Niwot Future League tries to focus on attracting businesses to Niwot, he said.

The NFL was formed several years ago as a subcommittee of the NBA at the request of the Niwot LID to work with the NBA's Economic Development Director to revitalize the Niwot business community. At the time there were many vacancies in the business district, and the group, then known as the Revitalization Committee, worked to address the issue. Bergeson noted that there are currently only a few vacancies in the business district.

Bergeson, who serves as NBA president and is also a member of the Niwot LID Advisory Committee, noted that the LID is hosting a meeting on Nov. 2 for all Niwot community-focused groups to exchange ideas and work on coordinating major projects for the town. "I think we can work for a common vision for the town," Bergeson said. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at the Left Hand Grange, with leadership of each community organization asked to speak about its current projects and upcoming goals. The meeting is open to the public.