City of Boulder issued the following announcement on Aug. 6.
If approved by the City Council and Boulder voters, the settlement would create new pathways, through a partnership, to reach the city’s clean energy and emissions goals and suspend the city’s decade-long municipalization effort.
The draft franchise agreement was previously published. The settlement agreement and other settlement documents are available in full on the city’s website. Resources describing the contents of the agreements are available on the city’s newsroom.
Negotiations between the city and Xcel Energy began in April, with the parties meeting dozens of times over three months for discussion. In the negotiations, the city and Xcel Energy considered much of the community input that was expressed during a parallel public engagement process. The city, along with Xcel Energy, held four virtual listening sessions in June attended by nearly 200 community members. The City Council and Xcel Energy also heard from hundreds of community members via email.
City Council received a briefing on the agreements at its July 28 meeting and passed an ordinance on first reading on Aug. 4 to place the franchise agreement on the November ballot. The second reading and public hearing on the ballot ordinance are scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 20. In addition to the previously released franchise agreement, the settlement agreement and other agreements released are the latest iteration of the settlement documents and are subject to continued refinement up until Aug. 13, when the final packet for council consideration will be published.
Council will take public testimony on this issue on Aug 20, prior to voting. The meeting will be held online. Individuals who simply wish to watch should do so on the city website, the city council YouTube channel, or on Comcast Channels 8 or 880 in Boulder. Individuals who wish to speak at the meeting must sign up in advance. A link to do so will be available starting the afternoon of Thursday Aug. 13 on the council participation page. Signups will close at 5 p.m. on Aug. 20. Participants will receive a link to join the online meeting after they register and again at about 5:30 on Aug. 20 via email. Because of the expected number of speakers, individuals will be asked to limit their comments to two minutes each. All testimony will be audio only. If a speaker wishes for council to consider any visual materials, these should be emailed to council@bouldercolorado.gov in advance.
If City Council votes to place the proposed franchise agreement on the fall ballot, voters will determine whether the city will enter into the franchise agreement, as required by the city charter. The franchise agreement is also subject to approval by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, which is expected to consider the new franchise soon after potential voter approval.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up