LID approves funding for 3 events

The Niwot Local Improvement District (LID) approved five funding requests at its regular meeting May 3, including funding for three popular community events. Scott Firle chaired the meeting, with advisory board members Lisa Rivard, Cornelia Sawle, Bruce Rabeler, Jeff Knight, Heidi Storz and Keith Waters also in attendance, along with Boulder County liaison Mark Ruzzin.

The Niwot Cultural Arts Association (NCAA) and the Niwot Business Association (NBA), co-managers of the Rock & Rails summer concert series, applied for funding of $10,000 to help cover costs of operation, including advertising and promotion. The LID has been a primary sponsor of the event for several years.

This year's edition will feature 13 concerts, every Thursday night in June, July and August, at Whistle Stop Park in Niwot. Opening acts, which start at 5 p.m., often feature local musicians. Headliners come on stage at 6:30 p.m.

Organizers reported that over 100 volunteers contribute to the operation of the event each year, which attracts people from Boulder, Longmont, Lyons, Louisville, Lafayette and Superior, in addition to local residents. They noted that last season's tip jar program, which benefits different non-profit organizations in the community each night, raised over $30,000. Any net profits from the event are divided equally between the NCAA and the NBA, which in turn use the funds to pay for maintenance of Niwot Children's Park as well as other community projects.

Business sponsorships and beverage sales also help fund the concert series, which also returns over $1,000 in sales tax revenue each summer to the LID. After a brief discussion, the request was unanimously approved.

The NBA also applied for funding for Dancing Under the Stars, a Friday night event slated to begin June 24 and run for 14 weeks. The event, managed by Catherine McHale, was brought to Niwot after 37 years in Boulder when organizers there met with too much red tape to continue.

McHale wrote, "Each evening starts with a free dance lesson at 7 p.m., followed by free social dancing from 7:45 p.m. to 9:30 p.m." The event is held in Cottonwood Square shopping center, and features a movable dance floor. "We have 100 to 120 people in the free class every week," McHale said.

"The mix of dancing will once again be predominantly salsa and swing (the most popular styles of dance locally), with additional evenings devoted to Cuban salsa/timba, ballroom and contra/folk," the application noted.

The estimated cost of the event is $10,065, with $4,000 expected to be covered by business sponsors, and $1,000 coming from NBA funds. The LID was asked to cover the balance of $5,065.

Firle said, "It's definitely a different crowd than we get at other events." Sawle, who owns the Niwot Inn, noted, "It draws people not just from Niwot."

McHale spoke to the benefits the event provides to the business district, saying, "It's timed so people go to dinner in Niwot. I've heard, 'I've never been to Niwot before, it's so much fun.' People are messaging me already - When is it going to start?"

McHale also said she had the support of businesses, "The owner of Cottonwood Square is being very supportive, and put up lights for us. Starbuds will store the dance floor for us."

After a brief discussion, the request for funding was approved unanimously.

Also on the agenda was a request from the Niwot Community Association (NCA) for funding for the annual 4th of July festivities, which include a pancake breakfast and a return to the traditional parade featuring hundreds of children on decorated bicycles..

Kathy Koehler presented the funding request for $3,125 on behalf of the NCA, noting that the requested funds would cover advertising and promotion costs, miniature flags, pedicab rides, and portapotties. The NCA will cover the estimated $5,450 balance of the costs, including insurance, security and bike decorations for the hundreds of children who ride in the parade.

Koehler explained that the parade would be staged on Meadowdale Drive this year, rather than in the Cottonwood Square parking area. "It's a safety concern," Koehler said. "Bike decorations are in Cottonwood Square, and Alison's runners come right in there," referring to the Niwot Run, organized by Alison Steele of Niwot Market, which ends right as the pancake breakfast begins.

In supporting the request, Storz said, "The 4th of July is a signature event for Niwot." Other board members echoed her sentiments, and the request was approved unanimously.

Two other funding requests came before the group. The NCA requested $1,025.44 to cover the cost of additional signage for road closures during Niwot events. David Limbach, president of the NCA and one of the road crew volunteers, presented the request, which stated, "As custodian of the road signs since 2013, the Niwot Community Association has maintained, repaired and supplied support for Niwot community events."

Limbach noted that moving the July 4th parade staging area to Meadowdale Drive would require additional signage, and that the NCA would cover the shipping costs, estimated to be $200. He also reminded the group that the signs are used for many other events, including Rock & Rails, the Honeybee Festival, the House Blend Band's concerts, and Niwot High School's homecoming parade.

Storz, a former NCA board member, said, "The signage program instituted by the NCA has been very useful. From my experience, it would be way more expensive to do it on an event by event basis." After a brief discussion, the request was unanimously approved.

The Niwot Historical Society presented a request for funding in the amount of $2,250 to update the organization's website. The organization expects to pay an additional $445 for logo and newsletter costs.

Koehler, who is president of the Niwot Historical Society, and webmaster Leonard Sitongia, also a board member, presented the request, The current website was created over 30 years ago, and the software is no longer in use. The plan is to redesign the website in Wordpress, a popular platform that is also used for the Left Hand Grange website.

Koehler noted that the artwork for the organization's logo is not available and the logo will have to be recreated. Sitongia said, "We need to recreate our original logo. It would make it a lot more interesting and attractive to people." He reported that the current website receives two to four unique visits each day on average. "We bring people into downtown with the Lecture Series, and add to the charm of Niwot."

Koehler also reported that images that belong to the organization are being sold by others because the current website does not allow them to be watermarked. "I came across a store in Boulder selling 12 of our archived photos," she remarked. "The new software would allow us to watermark photos."

Firle noted that the Strategic Plan recently updated by the LID includes the values statement, "We seek to preserve Niwot's authentic character, semi-rural character, and artistic expressiveness," and indicated his support for the request. After a brief discussion, the request was unanimously approved.

Rabeler, who serves as treasurer of the LID, reported that revenues continue to climb. With receipts reported through February of 2022, revenues are up by 7.6% over the same period in 2021, when annual revenues were at a new high of over $269,000. In addition, Rabeler reported that the LID's reserve amount at the end of 2021 was estimated at $307,356. LID policy requires a reserve of only $60,000 to guard against a severe downturn in the economy.