Hello,

I wanted to remind you that the County Commissioners’ town hall meetings will now be on the third Tuesday of each month, instead of the third Thursday, from 5:30 – 7:00 at rotating locations and on topics of general community interest.  If there is a location in your community and a topic you would like to propose, please send it to me.  On Tuesday, June 18, we will be at the Sunshine Fire Station, 311 County Rd. 83 to talk about wildfire mitigation.  Since January 1, 2023 Boulder County has been collecting funds from a new voter-approved sales tax to support wildfire mitigation throughout the county.  You can learn all about what Boulder County’s Wildfire Partners program is doing at this webpage.  You can also sign up for the Wildfire Partners newsletter from that page to keep abreast of new programs and mitigation resources.  Additionally, there is a new Community Wildfire Protection Plan out for public comment.  Go to this page to review the plan and submit comments.

Before I turn to other news on what I have been doing as your county commissioner, I want to urge you to vote, if you haven’t already done so, for Kathy Gebhardt for the State Board of Education for CD2.  I haven’t used this mailing list to promote a candidate in the 2024 primary.  I am doing this for Kathy for two reasons.  First, she is an exceptional candidate for anything related to public education funding, cirriculum, educational policy and student equity.  Kathy provided outstanding leadership during her two terms on the Boulder Valley School District Board of Education.  I first got to know Kathy through her courageous litigation to require adequate funding for public education as required by the Colorado Constitution.  She is brilliant and dedicated, and a quiet leader.  The second reason I am writing is because Kathy is being attacked by big money from Independent Expenditure Committees that don’t have to disclose their donors.  They are sending glossy mailers on behalf of her opponent on an almost daily basis with baseless allegations about Kathy’s record.  And they are promoting a candidate with no public record of having acted to support public education, but who is funded by big money to get their agenda into law.  Their agenda is largely to fund unaccountable charter schools, both for-profit and non-profit, at the expense of everyone else.  

In other news, I did my inaugural “Hike with a Commissioner” last Friday and it was a big success.  We had a good turnout  and I got to talk one-on-one with everyone on the hike while we enjoyed the peace of a morning at Walden Ponds.   I’ll share any upcoming hikes in this newsletter.

I am please to report that I was able to help get an extension of Xcel Energy’s energy efficiency and electrification rebates for people who are rebuilding after the Marshall Fire.  I learned earlier this year that the rebates Xcel Energy was offering were going to expire on June 30, 2024 and would not be available to those who had not gotten a building permit by that date.  I was able to arrange to have the Director of the Public Utilities Commission and one of the PUC Commissioners attend a fire recovery meeting so rebuilders could explain their circumstances.  After connecting with the city of Boulder, which had an active PUC docket, those rebates have now been extended to June, 2025.  You can read about that decision and other rebuilding incentives on this Marshall Fire rebuilding webpage.  The OSCAR webpage has information about other sustainability programs, incentives and grants that are funded by the county-wide Sustainability Tax.

Lastly, I know that the presence of unhoused people who are living on our streets and public spaces is challenging everyone.  Friday after my hike with constituents at Walden Ponds I toured the new Bluebird apartment development on 30th & Mapleton in Boulder.  It is a fine example of what is called Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH).  PSH is just what its name says it is:  a permanent home that is coupled with supportive services to help people move from homelessness to housing and achieve stability in their lives.  Element Properties developed the 40-unit apartment building in partnership with the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, Boulder Housing Partners and the city of Boulder.  Using funds from the city, HUD, the Department of Local Affairs and state and federal tax credits, Element was able to construct and staff apartments that have allowed 40 individuals to move from the streets into individual, private apartments.  They have a lease and must observe the terms of the lease, including no illegal drug use, no smoking, quiet hours and limitations on visitors, and must pay a portion of any income they earn as rent.  The building has security at the front desk 24/7 and on-site property management and case workers.  Element has a similar project under construction, called Zinia, in Longmont. It is a challenge to finance projects like Bluebird and Zinia and to maintain consistent funding for services.  But this, along with finding the funds for more addiction and mental health services, is what we must do to make progress on homelessness.  

That’s all for this newsletter.  I’ll let you know about the July 16 townhall in early July.  Until then, enjoy the summer!

Claire