Speak to City Council at Open Forum
The Longmont City Council will hold a virtual Open Forum via Zoom beginning at 7 pm on Tuesday, January 19, in place of the regular city council meeting. At this forum, members of the public may speak to council for five minutes on any topic. For instructions on calling in to speak watch the livestream on the City’s YouTube channel at LongmontColorado.gov or at LongmontPublicMedia.org. Following the meeting you can watch a recording on the City’s YouTube channel.

New Utility Rates In Place For 2021
A new year is underway, and Longmont has new electric and water rates to go with it. For a typical household, this will mean an additional $3.67 per month in electric costs and an additional $3.50 per month in water costs on average. These rates, which took effect January 1 and remain comparable to other Front Range communities, were adopted by the City Council in 2019 to help expand water treatment capacity, upgrade the City’s electric meters and utility billing system, pay for wholesale energy costs, and otherwise cover operations, maintenance and improvement needs. Find more information at LongmontColorado.gov/RateChanges, including options for financial assistance and ways to help keep bills low, such as Longmont CAReS, Efficiency Works, and Colorado’s Affordable Residential Energy Program (CARE).

Boost Longmont Business Grant Program Wrap-up
The Boost Longmont Business Grant program has officially closed, having awarded a total of $1,327,895 to 97 small businesses throughout Longmont. All funds were disbursed to businesses by December 31, and a final list of grant recipients is available on the City’s website. In total, 182 businesses submitted applications totaling approximately $2.66 million in funding requests. With only $1.3 million in possible grant funds available, the review panel had the difficult task of selecting those businesses most in need and who demonstrated strong future viability.

Are You Smarter Than a Librarian?
From 7 to 8:30 pm on Monday, January 11, the Longmont Library will host “Are You Smarter than a Librarian?” This interactive, online trivia game for adults and older children is moderated by a Longmont librarian. It can accommodate up to 25 people, teams, or households to compete for bragging rights by winning the best of five rounds of play. Advance registration is required, and the registration confirmation will have instructions for joining online. Visit bit.ly/LibPrograms for more information and to register. 

Nurturing Parenting Classes
The City of Longmont’s Children, Youth and Families Division is offering free virtual parenting classes that focus on the importance of raising children in a warm, loving and compassionate home. Classes meet from 6 to 7:30 pm every Tuesday for 10 weeks. Classes in Spanish begin January 12; classes in English begin March 30. For more information and to register, call Claudia Orona at 720-363-5613 or email Claudia.Orona@LongmontColorado.gov. 

Play Library Bingo and Win Prizes 
Don’t let the cold and the dark of winter get you down; spend some indoor time playing Wintertime Bingo with the Longmont Public Library. It’s easy to play! Through the end of February, pick up a bingo card from the Library’s curbside delivery tables in the 300 block of Emery Street during open hours, or download and print one online. Then, start reading books, watching movies, listening to audiobooks, and more to get a bingo and win prizes. For details and to get a bingo card online, visit bit.ly/LibPrograms. 

Virtual Discovery Days at the Museum
Discovery Days encourages children ages 2 – 6 and their caregivers to learn together through engaging hands-on activities. To keep our littlest learners safe, the Museum now presents Discovery Days in a virtual format. Virtual Discovery Days is a two-part program that includes a Monthly-at-Home Craft Kit for purchase and virtual crafting and story time sessions that match the crafts and themes in the kits. Sessions run January 20 – April 30 at 10 am and at 11 am on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Learn more at LongmontMuseum.org or call 303-651-8374. 

City Holiday Schedule
Longmont city government observes the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday, January 18. Most City facilities will be closed, but all Longmont Recreation facilities will be open regular hours by reservation. Trash, recycling and composting collection will be one day later than usual throughout the week.