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Honoring excellence in Boulder County public service |
The Pinnacle Awards recognize teams of Boulder County employees who exemplify
the County's guiding
values to provide excellent public service.
The awards are given to teams who demonstrate outstanding teamwork, public
service and innovation in six categories:
- Public Service
- Stewardship and Sustainability
- Public Involvement
- Innovation
- Collaboration and Teamwork
- “Commissioners' Choice” (projects that are unique, creative, or otherwise unusual).
2007 Finalists and Winners
2006 Finalists and Winners
2007 Finalists and Winners
The Boulder County Commissioners recognized 18 Pinnacle Awards finalists in
2007, representing the work of nearly 250 County employees. Six of the projects
were selected as Pinnacle Award winners. Descriptions of each of the finalists
follow, with a star to indicate winning entries. Click on each project to read a full
description of the program. Public Service
Stewardship and Sustainability
Public Involvement
Innovation
Collaboration and Teamwork
"Commissioners' Choice"
Online Septic System Database
Getting people to talk or care about their septic systems is no easy task.
For most of us, it’s out of sight, out of mind once we flush the toilet.
Nevertheless, faulty septic systems are a real public health threat, with the
potential to cause real harm to groundwater.
Out of an estimated 14,100 septic systems in Boulder County, more than 4,300
are unapproved.
 Boulder County Public Health launched the SepticSmart program as a way to
assure that every septic system in the County is protecting our groundwater. A
major part of this initiative was development of an easy way for homeowners to
check on the status of their septic systems. Partnering with Information
Technology, Public Health developed an online lookup tool for the public.
It is estimated that the online septic system database is accessed by the
public about 50 times each week. It is especially valuable for homebuyers and
realtors when considering the purchase of a home with a septic system and serves
as a reminder of the importance of keeping our groundwater safe.
When the Commissioners visit unincorporated communities throughout the County,
the online septic system database consistently receives praise from residents as
an example of how the County can truly help residents by providing easy access
to information.
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Immunization Data Entry Project
Boulder County Public Health conducted a study in 2006 to determine
immunization rates for children between 19 and 35 months of age. The study found
that only 60 percent of these kids were immunized appropriately, meaning four
out of ten were vulnerable to diseases like whooping cough, measles and chicken
pox.
With a goal of improving immunization rates, Public Health identified some
key barriers. A computerized record-keeping system could help remove some of
these barriers by tracking immunizations Countywide and notifying parents when
immunizations were due. Unfortunately, most physician offices kept immunizations
in paper form, meaning someone would need to input all of that data into a
database.
Thinking creatively about how to do this, Public Health hired senior tax
workers, who have thus far entered the immunization records from two physician
practices. This means that 2,500 Boulder County children will have a better
chance of being up-to-date on their immunizations and a lower risk of many
infectious illnesses.
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Walt Self Senior Housing Project
Until last year, low income seniors living in Lyons had few options for
affordable housing. Partnering with the USDA, Colorado Housing Finance
Authority, the Town of Lyons and the local seniors group called the Lyons Golden
Gang, the Boulder County Housing Authority developed the Walt Self Senior
Housing project. The project consists of 12 brand new permanently affordable,
one-bedroom apartments for Boulder County seniors whose income is well below 30
percent of the area median income.
The development also included a nearly 3000-square foot community building to
be used by residents and to provide a permanent home for the Lyons Golden Gang’s
“meals on wheels” program.
There were many challenges to getting the project up and running, including
the lack of available land and significant financial resources. Through
creativity and persistence, the project came together over the course of five
years and is now a treasured asset in the Lyons community.
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ClimateSmart Campaign and Energy Sweeps
The Boulder County Commissioners adopted a resolution in 2005 that sets
aggressive goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the County.
 ClimateSmart was launched in 2007 to help bring residents on board.
Partnering with the City of Boulder and other municipalities in the County, the
campaign includes a Web site designed to provide educational information and
solicit individual pledges for what people are willing to do to reduce their own
carbon footprints. Since its launch in September, more than 270 individuals and
100 businesses have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through the Web
site, which can be found at
www.BeClimateSmart.com
The neighborhood energy sweeps brought energy-saving compact fluorescent
lightbulbs and educational information right to the front doors of two selected
lower-income neighborhoods in the County, including Spanish-speaking residents.
The sweeps distributed 550 energy kits containing 3,860 CFLs and collected 832
incandescent lightbulbs. It is estimated that residents of the Martin Acres
neighborhood will save about 1.3 million kilowatt hours of electricity during
the CFLs’ 10,000-hour life. This translates to a savings of $118,318 in electric
bills for those residents.
In Longmont, Kensignton-area residents will save about 822,800 kilowatt hours
of electricity, for a savings of more than $45,000. Another 447 kits were
assembled and distributed to affordable housing agencies in both Longmont and
Boulder, resulting in an additional $178,000 in energy bill savings.
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Online Vehicle Registration Renewal
Every County resident who owns a vehicle has to update its license plate tags
every year. Although many owners mail in their registration renewals, many were
renewing in person, resulting in driven trips to the Clerk and Recorder's
Office.
To cut down on these trips and their resulting carbon emissions - as well as
to provide a service that would save time for residents - the Clerk's Office
implemented an online vehicle registration renewal program. This efficient,
user-friendly interface allows individuals to renew their license plate
registrations from the comfort of their own homes or offices, not only reducing
vehicle miles traveled to the Clerk’s office but also saving time for residents.
Here’s how it works: A County resident visits the Web site at
www.co.boulder.co.us/clerk/ and clicks on “Online Vehicle Registration Renewal.”
This takes the resident to the State of Colorado Department of Revenue site,
where look-up and processing of payments is completed. Each day, the County
motor vehicle staff accesses the files from the state, updates County records,
prints the documents and mails the vehicle registration renewal to the resident.
Staff then verifies the payments received, and the resident receives the renewal
information in the mail within a few days.
Boulder County is just one of a few Counties in the state to make online
renewal available to residents and now serves as a resource to other counties
looking into this option. From April through October of this year, more
than 8,700 County residents renewed their registrations online.
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Zero Waste Program Pilot
In 2005 the Commissioners approved a Zero Waste resolution, with a goal of
increasing waste diversion for Boulder County government - and for the county as
a whole - to 50 percent or better by the year 2010. "Diversion" measures the
rate at which you divert items from the landfill, whether through recycling,
reuse, reduction in consumption or composting. The ultimate goal of Boulder
County’s Zero Waste Plan is to achieve zero waste or “darn near” by 2025.
The County's Zero Waste program launched with a pilot project at the County's
downtown campus. The program initiated a three-bin collection system: a blue bin
for mixed recyclables such as paper and cans; a green bin for compostables such
as food and nonrecyclable paper; and a gray or black bin for trash. Consistent
signage and an employee education campaign were developed to help ease the
transition.
Many employees were involved in making the Zero Waste program possible,
including custodial staff from the Facilities Division, as well as staff from
Resource Conservation and the Commissioners’ office.
Results were immediate and outstanding. In just eight weeks, downtown
employees approximately doubled their pre-pilot recycling and composting rates.
The pilot project clearly proved itself, and program organizers plan to extend
the zero waste program will be expanded to all County buildings in the future.
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Gold Hill Community Wildfire Mitigation Project
The potential for catastrophic wildfires and beetle infestations threatens
the long-term health of the forest in western Boulder County, as well as the
safety of mountain residents and the quality of drinking water provided to those
living throughout the Denver metropolitan area. We need only look at the
devastating wildfires in southern California this year to see how serious the
problem can be.
Boulder County is facing the challenge of how best to manage forest
resources. The Gold Hill Community Wildfire Mitigation Project was a
collaborative effort between Land Use, Parks and Open Space, and the Youth
Corps. The purpose was to support a wildfire protection plan created by the Gold
Hill community by helping to create fire and fuel breaks around the historic
mountain town.
In addition to protecting the town of Gold Hill, the fuel breaks were
intended to improve overall forest health, assist with erosion control, and
provided 13 cords of low-cost firewood for residents. Near the conclusion of the
project, representatives of a nearby mining operation asked if they could use 50
of the slash piles created by the project to help with mining operations such as
erosion control and adding organic elements to the reclamation process.
The project removed tons of material, mostly in the form of ponderosa pines,
including pines heavily infested with dwarf-mistletoe. It crossed boundaries
where necessary on private, federal and County-owned property. And the Youth
Corps teams involved learned valuable lessons about managing our forest
resources.
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Creating Vibrant Communities in Which We All Age Well
From the year 2000 to 2012, Boulder County’s over-60 population is expected
to increase by 70 percent. This rapid growth presents both opportunities and
challenges in many arenas.
“Creating Vibrant Communities in Which We All Age Well” is a strategic plan
that presents a community-forged vision for the future as well as strategies for
achieving that vision. A collaborative project between Boulder County, local
residents and the senior services divisions of five municipalities, the plan
provides strategies for achieving an elder-friendly community that goes beyond
just meeting basic needs by:
- promoting social and civic engagement;
- optimizing physical and mental health well being
- maximizing independence
- supporting caregivers.
Today, a Countywide Leadership Council of more than 100 members and seven
work groups continue to actively move the goals of the strategic plan forward.
The plan has become a state and national model and received the 2007 National
Association of Area Agencies on Aging “Innovation and Achievement Award.” It
also received a “Planning with Vision--Silver Award” from the Denver Regional
Council of Governments.
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Pharmaceutical Collection Event
Improper disposal of excess, expired and unwanted pharmaceuticals poses a
real threat to our waterways when they are flushed down the drain. Wastewater
treatment plants are not designed to remove these chemicals, so they end up in
downstream waterways and potentially wildlife habitat or someone else’s drinking
water.
With no budget whatsoever, Public Health’s Partners for a Clean Environment
wanted to tackle this problem. By partnering with Longmont United Hospital to
provide security and waste-hauling and with the city of Longmont for marketing
and publicity, PACE staff were able to pull off a first-of-its-kind
pharmaceutical collection event. The event took place on September 8, 2007 at
Longmont United Hospital.
 Nearly 200 people participated by bringing in their unwanted pharmaceuticals.
Staff collected 270 pounds of medications and recycled four industrial-sized
trash bags of pill containers, as well as two trash bags full of paperboard
packaging materials. In addition to the pharmaceuticals, staff received several
mercury thermometers for proper disposal as well as other durable medical goods,
such as diabetes test strips that can be reused.
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Foreclosure Prevention Program
Since 2002, the number of foreclosures in Boulder County has increased by
more than 50 percent. To address the rapidly growing number of foreclosures, the
Boulder County Housing Authority’s Housing Counseling Program developed a
three-pronged approach.
First, the Housing Counseling Program partnered with state and local agencies
to create a statewide Foreclosure Prevention Hotline. The hotline directs
callers to a housing counseling agency for one-on-one advice. Since October
2006, the Hotline has received more than 22,000 calls from Colorado homeowners
in jeopardy of foreclosure.
Second, the Housing Counseling Program has incrementally improved the
effectiveness of all services, including pre-purchase, credit and budget repair
and most importantly, foreclosure prevention counseling.
Third, the program has enlisted the help of Volunteer Housing Counselors to
augment existing services without increased costs. Six volunteers bring a range
of professional experience to this volunteer assignment, including real estate
law, industry and mental health expertise.
Using this three-pronged approach, the Housing Counseling Program increased
services to Boulder County residents from 647 households served in 2003-2004 to
1,410 households served last year.
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Highway 42 Revitalization Area Tri-Party Agreement
This groundbreaking agreement demonstrates creativity, innovation and both
internal and external collaboration. It is a first-of-its-kind revenue sharing
agreement between the County, the city of Louisville and Louisville’s Urban
Renewal Authority.
Urban Renewal statutes allow Louisville to implement Tax Increment Financing
(or TIF) as a way to help fund revitalization along the Highway 42 corridor. TIF
is basically a taxing mechanism where the “increment” in tax revenue before and
after a development occurs in a blighted area is reinvested in the development
itself, typically in infrastructure costs such as roads or sewers.
Unfortunately, the TIF investment in infrastructure doesn’t typically account
for the necessary expansion of County services that new development requires.
For the Highway 42 agreement, staff from the Budget, Assessor’s and
Treasurer’s offices worked closely to estimate the impacts of TIF financing and
new development to determine an equitable balance between the County’s needs and
those of the Urban Renewal Authority. The result is a revenue-sharing agreement
that fairly distributes funds to both entities.
The Highway 42 agreement is truly a model for other local governments in
Colorado, and it recently received a Gold Award from the Denver Regional Council
of Governments.
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Tenant Granary and Hay Barns
Preservation of agricultural properties is a key component of the Boulder
County Open Space program. But even as we buy more agricultural land to preserve
it as open space, the competitive demands of the agriculture industry threaten
the viability of small farms in Boulder County.
In 2003, County staff began to meet with 15 of the tenants who farm and ranch
County open space properties to see how the County can support local
agricultural operations. One idea generated from these meetings was for Parks
and Open Space to construct granaries and hay storage sheds on County-owned
agricultural properties and lease these structures to agricultural tenants to
help improve their operations.
Hay storage sheds protect bales from the elements, thus maintaining a higher
feed and resale value, typically 20 percent higher in price. Additionally, grain
storage bins allow farmers to harvest crops at a higher moisture content because
of the drying nature of the bins, while also protecting crops from the elements.
Storing a grain crop allows a farmer to take advantage of commodity price
increases later in the year of typically 10 to 15 cents per bushel.
To date, six granaries and six hay barns have been built, with the majority
of these constructed in the last 12 months. These storage areas cost about
$45,000 for the County to build and typically have a lifespan of more than 30
years. At a lease rate of $2,000-$6,000 per year, the cost to build the
structures will be repaid to the County in less than half that time.
More importantly, the granaries and barns ensure the viability of local
agricultural production for years to come.
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Laurels Apartments Renovation Project
 The Boulder County Housing Authority owns a four-unit affordable housing
complex in Broomfield that was in a state of disrepair. Serious structural
issues had reached the point where the building was no longer habitable. A
project plan estimated it would cost nearly $700,000 to repair, money the
Housing Authority simply didn’t have.
Time to get creative! Housing Authority staff began conversations with staff
from Workforce Boulder County, the Sheriff’s Office and County Transportation to
see how the project could be accomplished using different resources. An initial
investment of $30,000 to shore up the structure of the building helped get the
project under way, and soils work was completed by the Transportation Road
Maintenance crews.
In the spring of 2007, Workforce Boulder County’s Community Core program
began using its labor source to renovate the building, including recycling waste
materials, aluminum and wood from the gutted apartment complex. Six youth, ages
18 to 21, who were Workforce clients, made up the labor force, and under the
guidance of a Workforce project coordinator, the Laurels site became a technical
learning environment to introduce the youth workers to key skills in the
construction trade, such as electrical wiring, framing, plumbing, demolition,
drywall, paint, cabinetry, carpentry and floor installation. The units were also
made more energy efficient through new windows, doors and insulation, and water
saving fixtures were installed.
The Housing Authority leveraged other funding sources for a total project
cost of $350,000 – and only $125,000 coming from Housing Authority funds. Five
of the six youth who participated in the project moved on to professional trade
occupations, and the sixth went back to college. The project won the Colorado
Department of Labor’s “Governor’s Summer Job Hunt Award” and the “Colorado’s
Best Practices Award.” Finally, a partnership has formed between the Housing
Authority and Workforce that has them talking about projects for future years.
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Niwot Trailhead and Recycling Drop-Off Project
The list of employees who participated in this collaboration is very long –
about 135 people. It included staff from Land Use, Parks and Open Space,
Administrative Services, Transportation, and the Youth Corps, as well as members
of the Resource Conservation Advisory Board, the Parks and Open Space Advisory
Committee and the Niwot Community Association
Boulder County’s Resource Conservation Division decided it was time to update
the recycling drop-off station at a Parks and Open Space trailhead near 79th
Street and Mineral Road in Niwot. At first, they investigated other sites in the
Niwot community, but no other appropriate sites were available. Meanwhile, back
at the trailhead location, Parks and Open Space had discovered a deed
restriction that allowed for only a trailhead use at the site. Additionally, the
County Architects’ Division had learned that any new recycling drop-off would
need to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), meaning even more
space was required than previously thought.
\The obstacles for finding a permanent solution to the recycling drop-off
were big, but Boulder County staff members from several departments were
committed to working through them. The result is a completely redesigned
trailhead and recycling drop-off site that includes:
- A concrete pad and ADA-compliant ramps for dropping off recycling.
- Additional parking at the site for both trailhead users and recyclers.
- A new circular design for the trailhead parking that will better
accommodate horse trailers.
- A 90-degree entrance to the area, which is much easier to navigate than
the previous 150-degree entrance.
Most importantly, Niwot residents have given the project much praise.
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Catch the County Culture
The County's vision statement is: “As trusted stewards of Boulder County’s
future, we provide the best in public service.” This vision statement is
accompanied by six values that describe who we are as a County government and
how we intend to serve our residents.
It’s one thing to list vision and values on a piece of paper; It’s another to
translate words into practice. That’s the goal of the highly popular employee
workshop, Catch the County Culture. Provided by a team of employee volunteers,
the training includes the Fish Video, an explanation of limiting and liberating
beliefs, discussion of the County vision and guiding values, fun facts about the
County, an org chart game, and more.
Nearly 200 County employees have participated in the workshop so far.
Evaluation comments have included the following: “Taught me a lot about Boulder
County.” “Boulder County cares about me having a great place to work.”
“Presenters all display an obvious passion for development of the culture.” “It
made me feel more a part of Boulder County.”
And at least one employee who attended the class was so inspired that she
joined the team of employee volunteers who present the workshop.
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Integrated Treatment Court
 In early 2006, the 20th Judicial District (including the Probation
Department), the Sheriff, Boulder County Public Health, the Mental Health Center
and the Department of Social Services formed a partnership intended to reduce
addiction and improve life functioning for families and individuals, to reduce
recidivism, increase family reunification with parents or other family members
and reduce the use of jail beds. The partnership built two courts: The Adult
Criminal Treatment Court and the Family Treatment Court, which opened in
November 2006.
Both courts have shown remarkable success in accomplishing these goals. A
snapshot of the success includes:
- An 88 percent reduction in jail bed use by participants in the first
nine months.
- An average of 42 jail beds have been saved on a daily basis, meaning the
jail hasn’t come close to capacity since the program started, whereas it was
often at or near capacity in 2006.
- 72 percent of those admitted are still in the program and succeeding on
probation, while none of them were expected to complete probation
successfully without the program.
The treatment of addictions and the criminal behaviors associated with them
has been a longstanding problem in our community. Through collaboration and
commitment, this team has been able to positively impact the number of chronic
offenders with ongoing substance abuse issues who are jailed.
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Business Meeting Scanning Project
Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Boulder County Commissioners conduct business
meetings where they take care of the administrative business of the County.
Though generally routine, these items are essential to the day-to-day
functioning of County business and include such things as contracts and bid
awards, Land Use resolutions, budget adjustments and grant awards. Documentation
of these decisions often requires multiple copies.
 In January 2007, the Commissioners office started scanning these documents into
the countywide Content Management system, converting the documents to electronic
(.pdf) format and allowing County employees to access them through the intranet.
This change has significantly altered the process for handling business meeting
items, generally speeding up the time it takes to return documents to the
originating department.
Most important, it has resulted in an 80 percent reduction in the number of
photocopies made following business meetings. A standard cover form captures
certain data from each business meeting item, allowing the items to be searched
in electronic format, speeding up the time it takes staff to retrieve items as
compared to searching through paper files.
Moving toward a less paper-intensive business meeting process aligns well with
the County’s sustainability goals. With an 80 percent reduction in photocopying,
we estimate we reduced the number of copies made in our office because of
business meetings from more than 20,000 in 2006 to about 4,000 in 2007, or 23
reams, or about two trees.
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Community Services Diversity Leadership Team "Cookbook"
The “cookbook” is a tool designed to assist Community Services Department
staff in improving the quality of their interactions with divisions, as well as
service to clients. A team of Community Services staff from different divisions
gathered materials from several sources and pulled them into a comprehensive
package of learning tools and activities.
Each of the activities relates to one of the County’s guiding values. The
goal is to help employees interact with others in a way that is equitable and
inclusive. For example, one of the parts of the cookbook helps to explain
terminology when working with people with disabilities. Another offers a way to
measure the climate of your meetings to determine whether they are inclusive of
all points of view.
The "cookbook" was disseminated to all Community Service divisions, and the
activities have been used both individually and at staff meetings. Word has
gotten around about the usefulness of this tool, and the cookbook has
subsequently been distributed to all offices and departments in the County.
Another municipality has also expressed interest in using it.
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