Next week, city staff will begin outreach to eligible City of Boulder voters about two related initiatives that may appear on the November ballot, including:
The 0.3% sales tax is expected to generate about $11.5 million annually. The revenue from this tax would be used to pay off the $110 million bond. The cost of a 0.3% sales tax on a $100 purchase is 30 cents.
The purpose of this outreach is for city staff to gather feedback on the capital tax extension and bond measure. City staff will collect feedback on project types, the proposed project list, bonding authority, the non-profit component and duration. This feedback will help inform how the items appear on the November ballot.
A statistically valid survey in both English and Spanish will be open to Boulder voters for 10 days beginning early next week. This bilingual survey will be conducted by Magellan Strategies in Louisville. Additionally, several focus groups designed to gather non-profit feedback will take place in June and July. Participants will include non-profit recipients of and applicants for previous CCS funding, as well as the broader non-profit community. The city’s Communication & Engagement Department will support these outreach activities.
Revenue from the 2011 Capital Bond and 0.3% sales tax has funded more than 100 infrastructure projects, including Fire Station #3's relocation, improvements to the Fourmile Canyon Creek Greenway, the North Boulder Branch Library and the Scott Carpenter Pool. Non-profit community projects that were funded include renovations to the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Boulder and the Dairy Center, improvements to Growing Gardens and a new facility for Meals on Wheels.
For more information, contact Sr. Budget Manager Devin Billingsley, 303-441-1848 or by email at billingsleyd@bouldercolorado.gov.
The intent of this item is to provide members of City Council with an update on Parks and Recreation summer pool operations. As shared in this press release, a shortage of summer employees is impacting the ability to operate all five city pools as planned this summer. This situation is disappointing to both community members and city staff.
After further reviewing pool operations and current staffing levels, Parks and Rec are making these service adjustments through July 12:
These factors were considered in making the service-level decisions:
Communication efforts will encourage community members to visit lap-swimming facilities available at the NBRC and EBCC as well as Scott Carpenter. Leisure swimmers can enjoy amenities at EBCC and Scott Carpenter, as well as the swim beach at the Boulder Reservoir.
In addition to the nationwide labor shortage impacting many sectors, including parks and recreation, here in Boulder the staffing shortage is augmented by a variety of factors, including that some high school sports, including swimming, are continuing into June due to pandemic-related schedule revisions, which limits these teammates’ availability. Both high school and college-age students are working less as they join their families for rescheduled vacations and special events. These demographics typically make up most of our summer workforce. In addition, as the private sector responds to the staffing shortage, market conditions (including staff wages) are rapidly evolving.
The COVID-19 staffing impacts have also played a role. We furloughed over 100 trained lifeguards and didn't know until April what we'd be able to operate this summer. Also, many lifeguards’ certifications lapsed while facilities were closed and trainings were not offered.
We are dedicating many resources to address this challenge and operate as we had intended for this summer. Working closely with our partners in Human Resources, we are taking a multi-pronged approach to recruit and train more lifeguards. We are also evaluating operations to operate as efficiently and safely as we can to provide for as many of our customers as we can.
This Heads Up is also an opportunity to remind City Council, and community members, that nearly all Parks and Recreation service levels continue to be impacted by the pandemic as outlined on our website.
We know our customers are disappointed with these limited operations. We understand and share their disappointment and are eager to restore services as staffing levels allow. Refunds will certainly be made available for those passholders who request them.
By July 6, Parks and Recreation will determine if staffing levels allow for any adjustments for the second half of the summer. We will also be working hard to address staffing levels. In the event it is possible to increase operations before mid-summer ,we will certainly do so.
Any help with our recruitment efforts is appreciated, so thank you for sharing this in your network. Interested applicants should go to www.BPRjobs.org.
For more information or if you have questions, please reach out to Parks and Recreation Director, Ali Rhodes, at rhodesa@bouldercolorado.gov.
Regards,
Nuria
