Niwot LID approves 5 Funding Requests

The Niwot Local Improvement District (LID) opened 2025 by approving several funding requests, including one for new street banners celebrating Niwot's first 150 years.

LID members Scott Firle, Eric Bergeson, Mary Coonce, Carla Hunter, Heidi Storz, Cornelia Sawle, and Keith Waters were present, along with Boulder County liaison Mark Ruzzin.

Jim Ditzel also attended the LID meeting. Ditzel, who is running unopposed for the position of president of the Niwot Business Association, was the only applicant for outgoing NBA president Eric Bergeson's position on the LID Advisory Committee. Bergeson's LID term runs through February, and the Boulder County Commissioners are expected to appoint his replacement in February.

Feedback on Events

Deb Fowler, Niwot Business Association (NBA) Vice President, reported that feedback from vendors at the NBA's Holiday Market was very positive. She said that 796 people attended the market at Niwot Hall, formerly Left Hand Grange, on the first two Saturdays of December. They also gave out 544 candy canes.

Fowler also talked about changes made for the 2024 holiday season. "We brought back the ice sculptures," she said. "Rebecca Folsom's concert at Niwot Hall was sold out on Saturday, and it was close to a sellout on Sunday." She also reported that 200 bags featuring Niwot swag were given out to patrons who signed up for the NBA's newsletter.

Coonce recounted hearing a woman walking down the street during the Holiday Magic event say to her companion, "This town is magical."

Fowler also reported on the NBA's Around the World Day event last spring, which included 16 participating businesses in Cottonwood Square and on 2nd Avenue. "The weather was terrible, it was snowing," she said. "But what it did do is get people inside [the businesses]."

Consortium of Cities

Firle, who chairs the LID, reported on the last meeting of the Boulder County Consortium of Cities, where he represented Niwot as a non-voting member. The focus of the meeting was child care availability in Boulder County.

Firle noted that child care for infants is only available for 18% of the infant population, with year-long wait lists. Other challenges include the cost of child care, which averages $25,000 per year for infants, $23,000 per year for toddlers, and $19,000 per year for school age children. In addition, Firle said that there are not a lot of high-paying jobs in child care, and limited opportunities for advancement. The Boulder County Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), that helps fund child care for low-income families, is currently on a freeze, with 388 people on a waiting list in the county. He reported a discussion about possibly imposing a tax on hospitality and lodging, as some other counties have done to make up the shortfall, but no action has been proposed.

Minimum Wage

The increase in the minimum wage that took effect Jan. 1, 2025, for businesses and farmers in the unincorporated county, was also a topic of concern as it puts Niwot businesses at more than a $2 per hour higher rate than that paid by Longmont, Lafayette and Louisville businesses. Bergeson and Ditzel noted that three potential buyers for the 1914 House property have backed off citing the minimum wage increase, which is slated to reach $25 per hour in 2030. They also noted that Niwot Market has had to cut hours of employees due to the increase. Firle said he was hopeful that the county commissioners would revisit the issue in the spring. "We've sent multiple Left Hand Valley Courier articles to them," he said.

PID Formation and Master Plan

Storz reported that she and Biff Warren had met with HOA representatives in Niwot about the possibility of forming a Public Improvement District (PID). The PID could collect taxes for subdivision road paving in addition to other community projects that are part of the Master Plan created by the LID. Storz is working with Boulder County representatives and plans on forming an organizing committee to consider forming a PID.

Finalization of the Master Plan was tabled until feedback from the December meeting and surveys could be incorporated.

Diagonal Highway Underpass

The underpass from the Diagonal Highway's median to Niwot was also discussed. Following the Dec. 2 community meeting, which was attended by County Commissioner Claire Levy and several staff members, county staff was directed to contact the engineering firm handling the project to obtain an estimate for designing what is known as Option 4, which would extend the underpass to include both the Longmont-bound lanes of the Diagonal Highway and the Burlington Northern railroad tracks. Indications are that if the design costs do not exceed the design costs of Option 3A, which county staff previously selected, by more than $50,000, the commissioners will consider changing the design to Option 4.

LID Revenue

Coonce, who serves as LID treasurer, reported that sales tax revenues through October continue to show a decline from 2023, currently at 8.9%, which is more than $20,000 less than revenue collected in the first 10 months of 2023. The report from October, however, was encouraging as the revenue in October 2024 was almost the same as in the same month in 2023. The LID continues to hold a reserve of $432,741 as of the end of 2023, with the likelihood of an increase in 2024 once all revenues are reported.

FUNDING REQUESTS

Sesquicentennial Banners

Deb Fowler and Laura Skaggs presented a funding request from the Sesquicentennial Committee, an ad hoc committee formed at the suggestion of the LID which includes representatives from many civic and charitable organizations in Niwot. The committee, chaired by Skaggs, is charged with celebrating the 150th anniversary of the platting of the community of Niwot on March 30, 1875.

Fowler wrote in the application, "A logo has been kindly designed by volunteers and business owners Angie Miltersen (Few of a Kind Mercantile) and Laura Gaibler (Garden Gate Cafe), and now we need funds for banner printing, storing photos, walking tour maps." The funding request was for $2,898 for the creation of a logo, and hanging banners on lamp posts in Cottonwood Square and on Second Avenue featuring historic photos provided by the Niwot Historical Society.

Skaggs said, "We started meeting on Dec. 2. I think it's extraordinary that it's come together." Skaggs explained that the committee looked at examples of what other communities around the country have done for sesquicentennial celebrations. "The takeaway," Skaggs said, "was that Niwot is exceptional. We do about 80% of them anyway."

The committee asked Miltersen and Gaibler to create a logo that every organization could use in promoting Niwot events in 2025, and they designed a banner in the form of a ribbon that the committee approved at its last meeting. Skaggs said, "We're going to tie that ribbon around every event."

She reported that there has been some discussion of a community event on March 30, 2025, which falls on a Sunday, but no firm decision has been made.

2nd Avenue Concert Series

Michael Tomich presented a funding request for the 2025 Second Avenue Concert Series. He reported that the five concerts held last summer usually had 300 to 400 people attending, with 500 patrons at the peak. The concerts featured Tomich's House Blend Band, as well as local musicians from the Niwot Gig. He noted that the local businesses on Second Avenue supported the monthly Saturday night concerts. "I've never heard anything negative," he said.

For 2025, the fifth year of the concert series which originated during the COVID pandemic, Tomich requested funding of $6,610, which is $1300 less than the 2024 request. The Old Oak Coffeehouse will contribute $5,000 and the NBA will contribute $500 as a sponsor to cover the balance of the $12,610 cost of putting on four concerts. Tomich, who co-owns The Old Oak Coffeehouse with his wife, Patty Machen, noted that none of the $3,520 paid to the seven musicians and the sound person goes to him or his wife as they get revenue from the coffeehouse during the concerts. Tomich plays keyboards and does vocals, while Machen adds a violin to the band.

Each of the other musicians are paid $110 per performance. Other expenses include advertising, promotion, stage set-up and traffic deployment as the first block of Second Avenue is closed off during the concerts. One of the musicians, a saxophone player with Niwot High School roots, "will do all the charts for the horn section," according to Tomich. "We want to get this to be more community oriented, but still professional."

Tomich reported that only four concerts are scheduled for 2025, starting May 17, and including June 28, Aug. 2 and Sept. 20, as the House Blend Band is also scheduled to perform at Niwot's Rock & Rails summer concert series for the first time, with the date to be determined.

Bergeson, who owns The Niwot Wheel House, said, "This is a great event." LID members unanimously approved the request.

Niwot Jazz Festival

Gene Hayworth presented a funding request on behalf of the Niwot Cultural Arts Association for the 2025 Niwot Jazz Festival, scheduled for Saturday, June 21 from 3 to 9 p.m. Hayworth, who coordinates the event with Keith Waters, said the headliner for the event is still to be determined, but Quemando, a popular salsa band, is once again slated to close out the evening.

The event, which was held in 2021, 2022 and 2024, will once again take place in Cottonwood Square shopping center, with food and drinks available from local restaurants as well as other Niwot businesses, including Love Ice Cream and Niwot Pizza, who will set up as mobile vendors. "We will be inviting other Niwot businesses to set up tables or tents," Hayworth said. "We want to create more of a festival atmosphere."

Also on the schedule this year for the free event is After Midnight, a swing band. Other bands will be added to the schedule Hayworth said. He expects 800 to 1,200 people to attend the event.

Hayworth requested $9,000 in funding toward the estimated $16,000 cost. "A lot of the money does come back into the community," Hayworth said. "There is a lot of community involvement, from the Niwot Community Connection, the Niwot Community Association, and the Niwot Business Association. There are a lot of volunteers."

Hayworth noted that additional funding comes from donations, sponsorships, in-kind donations, and Pathways to Jazz, a national non-profit organization. In addition to $5,800 budgeted for musicians, the bulk of the costs come from stage rental and setup, with $4,342 in anticipated costs.

The funding request was unanimously approved, with Waters, who is also a member of the LID Advisory Committee, abstaining.

Marketing Plan

Angela Hudgins, the NBA's Administrative Coordinator, presented the funding request on behalf of the NBA for 2025. She wrote in the application, "This plan includes management of the website, weekly newsletter, subscriptions to our weekly newsletter service, tracking and analytics, and advertising."

The total cost is estimated to be $39,880, with the funding request from the LID at $28,360. The application stated, "The marketing plan is intended to benefit the entire community and economy of Niwot by promoting businesses, events, and resources, as well as support for the local newspaper."

The NBA will cover the additional costs of $11,520. Hudgins noted that the request is slightly less than in 2024. She said that an audit of the website, www.niwot.com, resulted in "some great suggestions. We started using photos from a local photographer, Jeff Server."

Firle said, "Someone commented that [the NBA website] only benefits NBA members." Hudgins responded that although NBA members have the opportunity to be listed on the website, the social media efforts, including newsletters, event promotion and social media postings, benefit all Niwot businesses. The funding request was approved unanimously.

Business District Maintenance

Hudgins also presented the NBA's request for maintenance of public spaces in the business district in the amount of $16,000. Costs include watering, weeding, feeding and trimming of foliage in the business district and in Niwot Sculpture Park, snow removal, electricity for street lights, and banner and light post upkeep. The request was unanimously approved.