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Gross Reservoir Community Members,
As we near the end of April, we want to update you on the progress we're making towards a community recommendation for how to distribute the first round of funding from the Denver Water vs. Boulder County $5 million settlement agreement.
The first meeting of the Gross Reservoir Community Advisory Working Group was held on April 6 in the CCCIA community hall. We had several community residents attend in person and the meeting was livestreamed via Zoom. At that meeting, the working group members voted to hold the remaining two meetings in person (vs. virtually only), so we have reserved the community hall for April 25 and May 16 for that purpose. (See details under "Upcoming Meetings" below.)
We invite you to attend the remaining meetings in person. While we will do our best to improve the virtual (Zoom) experience from the last meeting, given the nature of the large room and the dynamic of a 12-member working group and several staff facilitators all sitting and talking around a table, we believe the in-person experience will always be better than a video version of the open group discussion.
Finally, we're pleased to share with you the results of the Pinyon Environmental report entitled, "Environmental Evaluation of Noise, Air Quality, and Visual Impacts Associated with the Expansion of Gross Reservoir." A link to the report and a comment/feedback form are included below. We welcome the community's review and feedback on the report.
We hope to see many of you at either of the next two advisory working group meetings or the Community Meeting with the Boulder County Commissioners on Saturday, April 29. The meeting will start at 1 p.m. with an open house followed by a Q&A session with the county commissioners from 1:30–3 p.m.
Sincerely,
Barb Halpin
Gross Reservoir Community Impact Mitigation Fund Coordinator
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The Pinyon report analyzing the air, noise, and visual impacts of Denver Water's construction operations is available for review at: boco.org/Gross-Reservoir-Pinyon-Environmental-Report.
Boulder County contracted with Pinyon Environmental, Inc., to complete an environmental evaluation (report) of noise, air quality, and visual impacts associated with Denver Water's Gross Reservoir Expansion project. The analysis includes an evaluation of the air quality, noise, and visual impacts the expansion construction is predicted to have on residences near the Reservoir.
The report contains an analysis of construction operations exclusive of the tree removal plans for 2025 and 2026 (full details of that plan are not yet available from Denver Water). These impacts will be evaluated once there is more information available from Denver Water to help inform Phase 2 of the funding distribution.
Note: The Pinyon analysis is meant to be used as a guide only -- i.e., one tool for both the working group's and the county's discussion on how best to distribute the community impact mitigation funds.
The lived experiences of those who reside in the community are the basis for discussions around how to fairly distribute money from the fund. We formed the community working group and have collected and shared community survey results from those who reside near Gross Reservoir to consider as part of the overall funding recommendation process.
Give us your feedback on the Pinyon report*
We welcome and encourage your feedback on the report. Please use the Pinyon Report comment form to submit your input. Comments submitted by 4 p.m. on Monday, April 24 will be shared in bulk with the Gross Reservoir Community Advisory Working Group to review prior to their next meeting on Tuesday, April 25. Submissions after that date will be shared prior to the working's group next meeting.
*The Pinyon report used the best available data for its findings. If your address was not included in the list of households analyzed (and you believe it should have been), please send a message to grossreservoir@bouldercounty.org to investigate the matter. Thank you.
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Advisory Working Group Meeting Schedule:
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Tuesday, April 25, from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. in-person at the CCCIA with virtual option via Zoom (meeting link)
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Tuesday, May 16, from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. in-person at the CCCIA with virtual option via Zoom
Note: At the request of the working group members, the meetings will be held in person.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the working group meetings to observe and provide written comments during the meetings. The facilitation team will capture all comments and distribute them to the Working Group for consideration.
We understand that some community members are unable to attend meetings in person for a variety of reasons, so we will continue to provide a virtual option for accessing the working group meetings. If you have the option, we encourage community members to attend in person for the best observational experience. The quality of the meeting webcast is limited given the interactive nature of the working group discussions and the community hall’s open environment.
(The meeting notes from the first working group meeting on April 6 are available here.)
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Community Meeting with the Boulder County Commissioners:
- Saturday, April 29 — Open house from 1–1:30 p.m., Q&A with the County Commissioners from 1:30–3 p.m. at the CCCIA
Community members will have the opportunity to provide comments on the Gross Reservoir Expansion project and the $5 million settlement fund during a Community Meeting with the Boulder County Commissioners on Saturday, April 29. (Note: because of the full, open community room environment, there will be no virtual option for the community meeting)
We will hold an open house for community members to look at maps and review notes from the first two advisory working group meetings from 1–1:30 pm and then hold a Q&A forum with the county commissioners from 1:30–3 p.m.
This community meeting is an opportunity for residents to provide feedback directly to the Boulder County Commissioners and members of the working group.
We look forward to seeing you there!
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