The City of Boulder will launch a new system for community members to share input and questions online with City Council on Jan. 14. As discussed at the Dec. 14 council meeting, the city will no longer be using the council@bouldercolorado.gov email address for community member communication and will instead make an easy-to-use online form available at https://bouldercolorado.gov/contact-city-council-and-staff.
The form will be prominently promoted on the city homepage and council-related webpages. The city plans to announce the new form to the community through a news release and promotion on the city’s various communication channels early next week. We will also send an email announcing the change to every community who has emailed council@bouldercolorado.gov over the past year.
Starting Friday, Jan. 14, community members who email council@bouldercolorado.gov will receive an automatic reply that directs them to use the online form for future communication. For community members accustomed to contacting that email address, we recognize the new system will be a change so we will communicate the rationale behind the change and welcome their input on the new form.
The form, which is available in English and Spanish, will make it clearer to the general public how to contact council, provide transparency about open records related to council communication, and allow the city to be more responsive and efficient in coordinating responses, which often involve staff expertise to answer questions.
Staff took your advice and made the form a little more welcoming and simplified language where possible. Community members can select or enter the topic of their message with their form submission, allowing the city to more efficiently route questions for staff to relevant subject matter experts. When in doubt, all drop down menus have an “Other” or “I don’t know” option.
When the new system goes live, every council member will receive an email when someone selects “Contact the Entire Council” with their form submission. To respond to the email, click on the “Compose a Response to this Email” link at the bottom of the message in your inbox.
As in the past, it is up to individual council members to determine when to respond to messages from the community. When direct questions are asked about existing city programs, services or policies, city staff from the relevant department will strive to respond in a timely manner as in the past. The city will continue to utilize Inquire Boulder for community members to submit service requests – such as filling a pothole or flagging graffiti for removal – so we encourage residents to leverage this tool when seeking assistance from the city.
If you have any questions about the new system, please contact Sarah Huntley, director of Communication and Engagement at huntleys@bouldercolorado.gov.
Prairie dog lethal control application submitted
Planning and Development Services has received an application for a prairie dog lethal control permit on private property. The application is for the trapping and euthanization of approximately 110 prairie dogs on seven acres of private land in the city.
Pursuant to policy, notice of the application will be sent to several interest groups on Jan. 10, and will be posted in the Daily Camera on Sunday, Jan. 9, under the "Legals" section. A 60-day comment period will begin on Jan. 10 and will end at 5 p.m. on March 10. The purpose of the comment period is to solicit feedback from the public on possible relocation alternatives.
The city’s Wildlife Ordinance requires that these permit applications remain confidential and that the name of the property owner and the location of the property not be released to the public.
Since the permitting program went into effect in 2005, the city has issued 13 lethal control permits for private landowners.
For more information, call Val Matheson, Urban Wildlife Conservation Coordinator, at 303-441-3004.
Regards,
Nuria
