Originally published on April 16, 2018.

John Scarffe, Nederland.

The Nederland Visitor Center has joined the Town’s efforts to reach 100 percent renewable energy by 2025. On Thursday, April 12, 2018, a SunnyTherm solar hot air heating system was installed, a new boiler replaced an old heater system and a garage door was installed in front of the restrooms to reduce vandalism.

Nederland Town Administrator Karen Gerrity authorized installation of the SunnyTherm solar hot air heating system at the Visitor Center, according to a SummyTherm news release. The collectors are located on the southwest wall outside, and the heat is delivered inside through two ventilators.

The installation involved placing insulation board on the area and drilling holes into the wall of the Center. Then the solar panels were secured to the wall and the ventilators were installed inside. Central Solar Inc. manufactures the Solar Hot Air Heating systems, in Loveland, Colorado.

The Town of Nederland will compare the usage in heat generated by carbon sources in comparison with usage after the SunnyTherm is installed, according to the release.

Data will be available on the website www.sunnytherm.com. This data will help determine the ways which the SunnyTherm systems can provide the Town of Nederland with carbon free heat in public buildings.

SunnyTherm Solar Hot Air Heating systems are available as kits for installation on your sunny wall through BeeYond Gardening LLC in Boulder, CO, 5717 Arapahoe, telephone number 303-258-7851. “Central Solar Inc. and BeeYond Gardening LLC are donating the system to help achieve the admirable climate goals set by the Nederland Board of Trustees,” states the release.

On the same day, A-C Plumbing Company from Black Hawk installed a new boiler to increase the energy efficiency of the building and its public restrooms. The previous heater had been a heavy, residential home heater, so the new boiler will be much more efficient.

Installation involved removing the old heater and placing the new one in the Center’s closet. They had to go through the roof to do some of the work, and the system had to be reset before it could operate. The plumbers returned on Friday morning for one more procedure and it was up and heating.

Also on Thursday, a new garage-style door was installed in front of the two public restroom doors in the back of the Center. In the past, folks have been able to break into the restrooms, stay all night and vandalize the property.

No one will be able to break into the new door, which is similar in style to roll down doors on storage units and garages. Restroom hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the door will be rolled down at 4 p.m. every day.

Public Works Employee Nicki Dunn said vandalism is a problem for the Town at the Visitor Center, Chipeta Park and the Skate Park. Recently a vandal wrote graffiti on the bowl at the Skate Park, and it will cost $6,000 to reseal the bowl.

The graffiti was the death star with the words, “Footsteps, the sound that brings me back into my body as it passes down the street.” Dunn said the writing was pretty and the grammar was correct, but she was disappointed in the content.

“We don’t have the budget to fix it,” Dunn said. “It’s hundreds of dollars of repairs and the time it takes. I have to decide whether to fix it or just let it go. We’re trying to build up the Town, and then someone comes along and does something like this.”

Work at the Visitor Center continued on Friday, April 13, 2018. After the plumbers returned and completed the boiler installation, Dunn and Monica LaSalle continued the job of cleaning and returning the Center back to its former glory – with all its new improvements.