Boulder County seeks Niwot candidates for appointed committees

Boulder County is seeking applications for one opening on the Niwot Business Local Improvement District (LID) Advisory Committee, a nine-member independent board that "prioritizes expenditures of the LID sales tax revenue," and makes recommendations to the county commissioners, who serve as the board of directors for the district.

The Niwot LID was formed in 1992 and was authorized to collect a half-percent sales tax to pay for street, drainage and other improvements in Old Town, beginning in 1993. In 2007 following a successful Niwot effort to change state law, voters in the LID approved a measure that increased the sales tax to one percent and allowed revenues to be used for marketing and promotional materials, as well as to pay for capital and transit-related projects. Although the LID still owed Boulder County for the street and drainage improvements on Second Avenue, the county allowed the new revenues to be used for the purposes permitted under the new state law.

The original debt was paid off in December 2010, and since then the entire 1% sales tax revenue has been available for expenditures that benefit the business district. Another Niwot-led effort to change state law allowed funds to be used for events and allowed expansion of the LID boundaries. Because Niwot is unincorporated, the LID sales tax is the only direct source of tax revenue for improvements that benefit the local improvement district, which consists of the 2nd Avenue business district and Cottonwood Square.

The Advisory Committee meets monthly to consider requests for funding and discuss other district-related business. In the past 12 months, the committee has approved disbursements for construction of the public parking lot, as well as funding for new events including Honey Bee Harvest Festival and the Niwot Jazz Festival. The committee is also responsible for updates and revisions to the Niwot Strategic Plan, which serves as a roadmap for future planning and LID expenditures in the community. The plan was first adopted in 2011 and has been revised twice.

The LID Advisory Committee holds its meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. Recent meetings have been held in the Niwot Inn & Spa conference room, as well as online via Zoom.

The application period is now open through Jan. 7, 2022. A five-year term for a new Niwot Community Association representative will begin in March 2022. LID members are limited to two consecutive five-year terms. Leaving the board is former chair of the LID Laura Skaggs, who is term limited. Other current members are Chair Scott Firle (resident), Eric Bergeson (Niwot Business Association representative), Bruce Rabeler (business), Lisa Rivard (resident), Cornelia Sawle (business), Mary Coonce (business), Heidi Storz (resident) and Keith Waters (business).

The county is also recruiting members for other local advisory boards, including a vacancy for a Niwot representative on the Area Agency on Aging. Niwot representative Rose Marie Miller currently holds the position.

The Niwot Design Review Committee also has an opening for a Niwot resident. The committee meets from time to time to review and make recommendations concerning proposed changes to structures in Niwot's downtown business district. According to the county website, "The committee's primary role is to act as a referral agency for proposals within the Niwot Rural Community District I (NRCD I). The committee does not have legal authority to grant Certificates of Appropriateness. However, the Historic Preservation Advisory Board (HPAB) shall consider the committee's recommendation as well as other public testimony in decisions pertaining to the historic district."

"The Niwot Design Review Committee consists of 5 members. Members are appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, and the selection process will be completed with the intent to include representatives of the Niwot Business Association, the Niwot Community Association, the Niwot Historical Society, at least one member of the HPAB, and members of the community who have lived or worked in the community for more than five years." The last reported meeting of the committee took place on April 23, 2020.

Current members are Bruce Larsen (chair), Satir DeMarco (vice-chair), Jason Emery, Will Hentschel and Katherine Koehler.

For more information, call the Boulder County Commissioners' Office at 303-441-3501. To apply, please visit https://www.bouldercounty.org/government/boards-and-commissions/vacancies/