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From YouTube: Inside Boulder News - July 26, 2013
Description
This week on Inside Boulder News: Council takes steps toward the potential creation of a local electric utility; RTD shows off Bus Rapid Transit vehicle; city unveils new website; and wastewater treatment is awarded $1 million grant.
A
Welcome
to
inside
Boulder
news,
I'm
Natalie
Wood,
the
future
of
boulders
electric
utility,
was
in
the
spotlight
at
council.
This
week,
City
Council
took
several
steps
toward
the
possible
creation
of
a
local
electric
utility.
These
included
hearing
from
a
third-party
evaluator
that
the
city
has
demonstrated
it
could
meet
voter-approved
charter
requirements
and
taking
an
initial
vote
to
move
forward
with
the
acquisition
and
possible
condemnation
of
necessary
property
by.
B
Charter
we
had
an
independent
third-party
evaluator,
come
in
and
verify
that
our
analysis
was
correct
and
they
verified
that
what
we
had
done
was
meet
the
Charter
metrics,
but
they
also
on
a
24th,
had
to
have
a
first
reading
approval
of
an
ordinance
that
basically
accepted
the
findings
of
that
third-party
evaluator
and
then
they
head
to
ballot
initiatives.
So
it's
been
a
really
really
amazing
week,
council.
A
Also
made
clear,
however,
that
they
want
to
continue
negotiations
with
Xcel
Energy
to
see
if
there's
an
alternative
way
to
achieve
the
community's
energy
goals.
The
utility
late
last
week
outlined
a
set
of
products
and
services.
It
would
like
to
develop
to
be
purchased
by
boulder
customers
who
wish
to
access
greener
energy
more
quickly,
Excel.
B
Developed
a
set
of
products
and
services
that
they
came
back
and
presented
what
we
have
recommended
and
what
council
supports
is
that
we
continue
to
evaluate
those
products
and
services
and
that
we
work
with
that
task
force
and
looking
at
those
to
see.
If
that's
something
that
really
makes
sense,
council.
A
Will
take
another
vote
on
whether
to
proceed
with
condemnation
on
august
sixth,
after
a
public
hearing
on
the
issue,
if
approval
is
given
the
earliest
condemnation,
action
could
be
filed
would
be
january,
2014,
providing
time
for
pre-litigation
work
and
continued
conversations
with
Xcel
Energy
an
example
of
a
bus
that
residents
may
one
day
be
writing
down
us
36
made
a
stop
in
town
Wednesday.
The
40-foot
long
bus
has
several
amenities
for
writers
and
runs
on
compressed
natural
gas.
This.
C
Is
an
example
of
one
of
the
buses
that
we
could
be
using
some
of
the
attributes
that
this
bus
has
that
we
like
is
the
fact
that
it's
low
floor
it's
easy
to
board
easier
to
get
off,
especially
for
handicapped
boardings.
It
also
has
what
we
call
suburban
style
seating
of
more
comfortable
seats,
so
it
is
part
of
our
evaluation
process
for
determining
what
kind
of
bus
we'd
like
to
use.
This
is
a
sample
of
one
of
the
buses
that
we
could
use.
C
This
bus
will
run
from
Aspen
to
Glenwood
Springs
as
part
of
a
new
service
that
they're
initiating
our
TD
is
going
to
be
instituting
a
similar
bus,
rapid
transit
service
along
US
36.
We
are
currently
in
the
process
of
building
the
infrastructure,
including
the
bus
line
along
with
C
dot,
and,
along
with
that,
we've
also
been
making
improvements
to
the
park
and
rides
along
the
corridor.
We've
established
a
lot
of
bus
ramps,
specific
areas
for
bus
boarding,
so
the
bus
is
no
longer
have
to
go
through
the
park
and
rides
off
the
highway.
C
A
Particular
vehicle
will
become
a
part
of
the
fleet
for
the
bus,
rapid
transit
line
between
Aspen
and
glenwood
springs.
The
bus
will
begin
its
new
route.
This
September
a
new
look
and
a
new
way
to
interact
with
Boulder
Colorado
gov.
The
city
of
Boulder
launched
an
updated
website
last
week
with
a
fresh
design
and
several
improved
features.
Nick
Grossmann
stopped
by
to
walk
me
through
this.
D
E
A
D
E
Of
the
most
unique
features
about
the
new
website,
that's
not
going
to
be
a
parent
to
our
users.
Is
we
entered
a
partnership
with
a
city
of
arvada
to
use
an
open
source
content
management
system
that
they
built
and
we're
just
partnering
to
both
develop
and
continue
to
support
that
content
management
system?
The.
D
Main
navigation
menu
was
chosen
by
hit
counts
on
our
pages
as
well
as
user
search,
and
these
are
the
things
we're
hoping
that
most
of
our
users
are
going
for,
based
on
the
searches
they've
inputted
in
the
last
several
years.
Inquire
Boulder
is
our
new
customer
service
portal
and
that's
highlighted
right
in
the
center
here
and
we're
hoping
that
that'll
drive
people
to
use
this
new
customer
service
tool
to
request
city
services,
to
ask
a
question
of
the
city
and
to
find
self-help
information.
The.
E
D
E
E
Excited
about
the
new
website
and
we
hope
that
the
community
likes
it
and
finds
the
information
that
they're
looking
for
and
if
there's
anything
that
they
can't
find
or
anything
that
they
want
to
request.
They
can
use
the
inquirer
Boulder
app
to
get
in
touch
with
us,
and
let
us
know
if
there's
anything
that
we
need
to
add
visit.
A
The
Colorado
Department
of
Public
Health
and
Environment
selected
Boulder
for
the
grant
out
of
48
eligible
wastewater
treatment
facilities
in
Colorado
folder
ranked
high
enough
to
receive
both
a
one-million-dollar
design
and
construction
grant,
and
an
$80,000
planning
grant.
The
funds
will
cover
about
half
the
cost
of
the
city's
planned
project
to
improve
nitrogen
removal.
The
money
will
also
be
used
to
study
nitrogen
and
phosphorus
removal
processes.