Nine cities awarded $620,000 in grants

Boulder County officials Tuesday said they would give $620,456 in Environmental Sustainability Matching Grants to nine cities in the region to support things like electric landscaping equipment and recycling projects.

“This year’s selection of projects, ranging from climate resiliency cooling solutions to waste services, highlights the importance of place-based, community-led strategies,” Lea Yancey, Boulder County senior sustainability strategist said in a statement.

Boulder is set to receive $215,990 to help workers switch over to electric landscaping equipment and to support urban forestry growth. Longmont was granted $201,368 to help improve neighborhood cooling systems and to bolster recycling initiatives at city parks. Lafayette will also use its $63,151 to improve recycling in its parks and to convert a fire station’s turf lawn into xeriscape landscaping.

Officials in Erie, Jamestown, Lyons, Nederland and Superior and Louisville are set to use their grant money for various local initiatives to improve energy efficiency.

“In Boulder County, we’re turning our climate and sustainability goals into reality, one project at a time,” Boulder County Commissioner Claire Levy said in a statement. “This $620,000 investment across nine communities isn’t just about funding; it’s a testament to our collective commitment to a sustainable future.”

The Sustainability Matching Grant Program started in 2014. In 2016, voters approved a 0.125 percent countywide sustainability tax, which designates a portion of sales and use tax revenue for fund sustainability programs and infrastructure.

Each city is required to match a quarter of the funding that it requests from the program with its own funds.