John Scarffe, Nederland. After significant public input, the Nederland Board of Trustees unanimously voted to withdraw a previously submitted grant application for improvements to the area west of Barker Reservoir during a regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 5, 2019, in the Nederland Community Center.

After a meeting room packed with residences to discuss the subject, the board moved an information item to a discussion item and then finally an action item to end the meeting. Since 2017, the Nederland Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Advisory Board (PROSAB) has been working on a plan to improve the area by Barker Reservoir, known as Barker Meadows Park or the Gateway Park, both at the Jeff Guercio Ball Fields.

The ball fields have been used for many years for major events such as Frozen Dead Guy Days and the summer music event, NedFest. While working on new plans for the Barker Meadows Park, PROSAB received approval from the trustees to apply for a grant through GOCO to fund improvements to the park, which were still in the planning stages.

PROSAB and Public Works having continually brought concept plans before the oard for improvements to the park, including restrooms, grasses and landscaping, a bike trail and a bike pump track. Then, on February 2, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Peak to Peak Music Education Association and the NedFest Organizing Committee released a letter announcing that the NedFest music festival, one of Nederland’s biggest events, has been canceled for the summer of 2019 due to the condition of the festival area.

At the February 5 meeting, PROSAB also added landscaping and a possible partnership with Eldora Mountain Resort ski area for wetlands at the Fisherman’s Lot on the southwest side of the reservoir and tying into the park.

During public comment, NedFest organizer Kristen McFarland said nothing they could say or do would make NedFest happen in 2019. “Nederland has screwed NedFest so many times it’s hard to count.”

Seventeen other members of the public addressed the board. Most comments included anger at losing NedFest and the lack of communication with the public about plans for the park. Most were opposed to the bicycle bump track but were in favor of the wetlands.

At the end of the meeting, after most residents had left, the board agreed to withdraw the GOCO grant and hold a series of public workshops to get input on the plans. Mayor Kristopher Larsen said they will draw up plans for the workshops and then bring this back to the board after public input in September, for the application deadline in November.

(Originally published in the February 7, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)