How to Place an Obituary

Click Here to Submit an Obituary Online

After your loved one passes away, you have so many contractual details to deal with, like home, finances, burial and funeral arrangements, the last thing you want to think about is placing an obituary in your local paper, but doing so is very important. A published obituary can be used in many cases with insurance companies and creditors to help prove the official death of a loved one, as well as letting all of your neighbors, friends and loved ones know of the passing in an efficient manner.

Although this may seem like an insurmountable task, The Mountain-Ear can help. We have a simple form to help you get started. We can put it all together into a story format for you. The cost to place an obituary is $25. That includes a photo and 750 words. Need an extended obituary? No problem. We can do that too. We can help make the process as simple as possible, for you and your family. To get your forms, more information and to see examples of published obituaries, please email publisher@themountainear.com.

Building Codes updated




The Nederland Board of Trustees approved updating the Town’s building codes during a regular, virtual meeting on November 16, 2021, at 7 p.m. The Board also heard an update on the Town Marshal search and the resignation of the sustainability coordinator. They discussed changing base fees, the Occupational Tax Funds Allocation Request, and the 2022 fee schedule.

Building Codes

Town Administrator Miranda Fisher introduced the Town’s Building Codes update, and said it hasn’t changed much since the Board’s November 9 meeting. At the October 19 meeting, the Board requested that Town staff look into the depth requirement for sewer lines, occupancy requirements, identifying a threshold for when sprinklers would be required — whether that be square footage or architectural design — as well as making homes solar- and EV-charger ready.

The 2018 Building Code Committee met on October 27, and favors keeping sewer depth at 12 inches per Public Works recommendations. SAFEbuilt proposes no changes for the occupancy. If someone is interested in building a tiny home, those standards are covered.

The Committee agreed to an exception to the sprinkler requirement for buildings that are 400 square feet or less. They recommended that new build single family and townhomes should be solar ready, which will include solar energy technologies, and also should include EV capability. Staff proposed requiring 25% of parking spaces for multi-family new build units be EV-capable, which would require amendments to Chapter 16 off-street parking requirements.

The changes will be implemented on January 1, 2022. The Board approved the Building Codes update.

Personnel Updates

Fisher updated the Board on the Town Marshal recruitment. The Town received 21 applications for the Town Marshal position by the deadline. The Initial Application Review Committee met on Monday, November 8, to assess applicants that met the minimum requirement.

The list of applicants was then narrowed down to six. The Full Application Review Committee met on Wednesday, November 10, to review those top candidates and said that five out of the six were top candidates and that three of those five stood out the most.

The Committee thought it would be beneficial to interview the top three candidates. Virtual interviews have been scheduled with those three candidates over the next two weeks.

Following the interviews, the Committee will decide if they want to interview the other two candidates or if they want to move the original three forward. The committee plans to conduct final interviews starting on November 29 and hopes to appoint a Town Marshal on January 4.

The Board learned that Sustainability Coordinator Garrett McDaniel has resigned from his position. He has a great list of accomplishments for the Town. His last day will be November 30. The Board thanked him for everything he has done.

Trustee Alan Apt announced he will be resigning from the Board of Trustees in December.

On September 28, 2021, Karina Luscher submitted her resignation to the Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA) Board. The Town received applications for the vacancy from David Sites and Dr. Catherine Valen. Applicants must be either a property owner or business lessee operating within the Downtown Development district. Board members serve four-year terms.

Sites said he agrees with the NDDA mandate to rebuild downtown and have Saturday events like the Farmer’s Market, and he is interested in hiring guards for traffic control.

Valen said she has been in business in Nederland since 1988 and has previously served on the Chamber of Commerce board when it first started up. She is interested in seeing the town’s businesses thrive and the town itself to be the best we can achieve with thoughtful, well-planned strategies.

The Board agreed on a four to two vote to approve Valen for the vacancy. The Board appointed Valen to the Board.

Base fees for utility customers

Public Works Manager Chris Pelletier introduced a proposal for input on base fees for utility customers. Nederland’s municipal codes state that any building with one or more users will be assessed a base fee rate for each separate use on the property.

Historically, if a single family residence was being used for more than one family, then that property would be charged a second base fee. Property owners who were being charged this second fee thought that this was unfair, according to background, and requested that the Board clarify this language.

Trustee Taylor worked with staff to clarify this language to remove the word “use,” which is considered ambiguous. Instead, the language was changed to associate the base fee to a certain address rather than a use. The ordinance includes suggested changes to each section of code.

Trustee Julian Taylor said the wording isn’t perfect but it is clearer, and Board members said it was a good compromise. Trustees said they were in favor of this, and Fisher said they will bring this back at the next meeting, and it would go into effect in January.

Tax Fund Allocation Request

The Peak to Peak Housing and Human Services Alliance formed a subcommittee to discuss how the occupational tax received from short-term rentals could be used. On May 19, 2020, the Trustees approved an ordinance implementing a lodging occupational tax.

Within the ordinance, a Health and Human Services Fund was created. At least 51 percent but no more than 99 percent of the revenues derived from the occupation tax on lodging will be deposited in the Health and Human Services Fund.

The Board of Trustees may, by resolution, adopt rules and procedures for administering the Health and Human Services Fund by an advisory committee.

The Health and Human Services fund has a current balance of $6,952. Town budgeted $10,000. for this fund in 2022. This is an ongoing request, and the advisory committee would meet yearly in August to decide how the funds should be used.

Mayor Kristopher Larsen said they can bring this back to the next meeting and talk about this again in two weeks.

Fee Schedule

Town staff are recommending changes to the 2022 fee schedule. Currently, when businesses make changes to their signs, no fee covers staff time, but staff felt that $50 is an appropriate fee to charge for this request. The Board did not approve this request.

Currently, when a business modifies their premise for their liquor license, no fee covers staff time. The state charges $150. The Board modified this request to $50 for a temporary modification of premise and $100 for a permanent modification of premise.

When a variance is filed, it takes a significant amount of staff and attorney time to review and process, so $250 should be the fee.

For facility and park rentals for one to 19 people for four hours or less, the Town has been waiving fees. While staff recommended the rental fee still be waived for a full day event, they would like to charge a $50 deposit, which is refundable should there be no damage following the event.

For events of 5,000 to 9,999 people, staff recommended the deposit be increased to $5,000 since an event this size has a significant impact on the facility rented. The Board said the amount should remain at $2,500. The Town will enter into lease agreements with event organizers, who could be billed for damages that exceed the deposit.

For events of 10,000 or more, staff recommended the deposit be increased to $10,000. Following the November 9 discussion with the Trustees, the deposit will be decreased to $2,500. Town will enter into lease agreements with event organizers for damages that exceed the deposit.

For the Adopt-A-Bench program, which permits anyone to adopt a bench and put their plaque on it, staff and the Parks, Recreation, Open Space Advisory Board recommended a fee of $1,000, similar to what other municipalities charge for this type of program. The Board reduced this fee to $100, which would cover Public Works’ time to install the bench.

The Board suggested PROSAB submit a proposal for how the Adopt-A-Bench funds would be used for the next meeting.

The next Nederland Board of Trustees meeting will be virtual on December 7, 2021. For more information, go to nederlandco.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=391.