John Scarffe, Nederland.  The Nederland Board of Trustees discussed adding an alternate or an additional member to the Nederland Planning Commission during a regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 17, in the Nederland Community Center. The Board reappointed Roger Cornell as Planning Commission chair, appointed former Mayor Chris Perret to the Commission and discussed adding an alternate or additional member, which would allow applicant, Jim Reis, to be considered along with anyone else who would apply.

Cornell has served on the Planning Commission since 1986, and his current term expires in June 2018, according to background. He is a resident of the Town as required by the Planning Commission bylaws.

At its May 23 meeting, the Commission voted in favor of recommending his appointment to the Board of Trustees. Cornell told the Board that he bought property in Nederland in 1977. He still enjoys coming to the meetings and solving problems, so he is throwing in his hat again. It was a decision he made a long time ago.

During Public Comment Jim Reis appealed to the Board to reconsider his name as an applicant for one of the two vacant seats on the Commission. Current Commissioner Timmy Duggan’s term expires in June 2018, and he decided not to seek reappointment, according to background.

Town staff received applications for appointment in May from Chris Perret, Pamela Miley and Jim Reis, although Miley and Reis asked to temporarily withdraw prior to the May meeting, according to background. Perret’s application was the only one for consideration at the May 23 meeting.

The Commission voted to recommend to the Board of Trustees the appointment of Chris Perret to the Planning Commission. It was later pointed out to staff that the position wasn’t advertised publicly with a posting at the Town Hall or on the website, as had been done for other advisory boards, according to background.

Due to this, the position was publicly advertised, with one application received by the due date of June 20 from Pamela Miley and a verbal request from Jim Reis to resubmit his application, which was made on June 21, one day past the due date, according to background.

Upon learning that there was not a new position on the PC, in addition to the one that Chris Perret had applied for, Pamela Miley requested to have her application postponed until there is another vacancy to be filled, according to background.

Jim Reis spoke at the June meeting and said even though he was a day late he hoped the PC would still consider him for the posted vacancy. The Commissioners decided not to consider Jim Reis’s request since his resubmittal was late and said he would be considered for the next vacancy along with Pamela Miley, according to background. The Commissioners did not choose to change their May 23 decision to recommend Chris Perret for appointment.

Reis told the Board that when the position was first advertised in April, it was not a good time for him, and he thought he was going to have to start in April. It was not well communicated, and he didn’t get a follow up email. “I feel like I have a lot to offer the community,” Reis said.

Town Administrator Karen Gerrity explained that the Town had announced the vacancy and had four applications. “It wasn’t posted correctly, and we apologize that no one from staff contacted you.” It was the day after when he talked to Town Staff Member Cynthia Baake. Both Pamela Miley and Jim withdrew.

Mayor Pro-Tem Julie Gustafson said we are trying to streamline the process for filling those positions, and she doesn’t want to overturn recommendations of the Planning Commission. Trustee Dallas Masters said this is a chance to fix this, because we have no real process. This particular incident was very confusing.

“We communicated that there was a vacancy now, and it confused the people who applied, including Jim. I support Roger, but when people put in applications then we should make the effort to be fair to them.

“These are four-year appointments, and Jim is excited. We should table this item, and the next item, and ask staff to contact them and put them on the next agenda to give them a fair shot,” Masters said.

Gustafson asked how this impacts the Planning Commission to get its work done. Gerrity said that, according to state statute, members can stay on until the positions are the filled, but it is tricky to get a quorum. “We can change the number of people on a Board by addressing it in the code.”

Trustee Alan Apt asked if the Planning Commission does not make the recommendations. Masters said: “We don’t need to seat the members of the Boards. It’s a better policy that the Trustees appoint them rather th an rubber stamping recommendations of the other boards.”

Gerrity said the Town has been treating reappointments differently, and she followed the protocol established over the past few years. “I’m not saying it’s the right thing to do.”

Mayor Kristopher Larsen said the Town should look at unifying our policies and making it clear that here are the steps it should go through. Apt said it’s a question of fairness for Roger and Chris.

“They went through the process in good faith, and the PC recommended them in good faith,” Apt said. He does support the notion of what to do in the future.

The motion to table the matter failed, and a motion to reappoint Cornell as chair of the Planning Commission passed, with even Masters voting for it.

Regarding Chris Perret’s application for the Planning Commission, Perret told the Board he has lived in town for 36 years, was a trustee for four years and mayor for two years. He has been in business in Nederland for 25 years, and his children attended school here.

He said he will be a good support to the Board and looks at all the facts and figures before making a decision. Cornell said the main criteria for membership are that they make all the meetings, come prepared and not have a private agenda.

He explained that he couldn’t accept Jim’s application because it was late. It was on the website for two weeks. “That was a decision I had to make as chair,” Cornell said. Once an application goes in it stays in for the calendar year. Jim and Chris would both make excellent volunteers to the community.

Apt said he was an alternate on the Fort Collins City Council, and Gerrity suggested having an alternate in case they don’t have a quorum. That makes sense. They would attend the meeting and take part in discussions but would only vote if they needed a quorum. The trustees also discussed the option of adding another commissioner.

The Board approved the motion and directed staff to look into procedures and the appointment of an alternate or an additional member. Trustee Kristen Conrad said she thinks they should have the same on all the other advisory boards.

Larsen said they shouldn’t try to do this on the fly tonight but have staff draft guidelines and then follow that process. Gerrity said they will do that.

The next meeting of the Nederland Board of Trustees will be on Tuesday, August 7, 2018, in the multi-purpose room at the Nederland Community Center.