Three candidates are running for trustees on the Town of Nederland Board of Trustees in the upcoming elections: Steve Cepek, Riley McAllister and Jesse Seavers. There will be a candidate forum at the Nederland Community Library on Tuesday, August 9, 2022, at 5 p.m. The election is Tuesday, August 23, 2022.

Steve Cepek

Steve Cepek has lived in the Nederland area for the past nine years. He first lived in the Ridge Road neighborhood for just a few months and then off of Lazy Z for about a year. He has been in Town for the past seven years.

Cepek was born just south of Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Boulder in 1998. He has lived in Colorado ever since. He spent a few years living in Fort Collins and a bit of time living in Lakewood as well.

He started working in bicycle shops in 1999 and found his career. He worked at Tin Shed Sports in Nederland and lives not far away from the shop. “My life is very ‘Ned-centric.”

He has worked in the cycling industry for the past 24 years. Cepek has been on the board of directors for Community Cycles in Boulder for the past three years. He has also been on the board of directors for the Nederland Area Trails Organization (NATO) for the past three years.

His priorities include bolstering the infrastructure of town and making sure that we can handle projected growth for the foreseeable future with a more reliable power grid, better water and sewage, maybe even touch on a more reliable internet, work on traffic concerns and plans for the foreseeable future.

Traffic has become frustrating for everyone especially on weekends, and the Town should work on a secondary bridge for foot traffic that can act as an emergency escape route for vehicles in an evacuation scenario. “I agree with the Envision 2030 plan. I personally feel that health care for the body and mind are super important to this community and housing is becoming a more and more important topic.”

Cepek would maintain and defend our environmental health with a focus on our watershed and on mining related issues. “We need to ensure that our workforce has affordable housing options in Nederland. I am personally against STR’s as I feel they eliminate housing options for locals, thereby limiting our workforce and thereby hamstringing our local businesses.”

“We need to bolster the infrastructure. We live in a windy community that experiences regular power outages. I would love to see our power lines buried, thereby hopefully eliminating the possibility of a downed power line in a wind storm potentially causing a wildfire.

“We obviously need to promote business growth and development. I believe that by providing affordable housing options, improving traffic flow through town and improving our power grid we can at least improve the foundations for our local businesses to grow and thrive.

“I think that we should absolutely promote cultural events. In my opinion, any appropriate event in town that can help showcase our community and draw business up here is a good thing. More business and revenue brought to our town will allow us to fund our future

“I am excited and nervous at the prospect of serving on the Town Board. I have been coming up to Ned for the past 24 years to enjoy the riding and skiing and culture of this whacky place. When I had the opportunity to make Nederland my home, I jumped at it.

“In the years of living and working in the area and in town, I have gotten to know the people that make this place special and unique. If I am elected to the Board, I will strive to make our community stronger and more prepared for a successful future.

“I understand the challenges of growing up without many resources or support. I will always be an advocate for more affordable housing for our workforce.

“I believe that the future of our community is wholly reliant on having a successful and thriving local population. I believe that a successful future will be built on the pillars of bolstered roads and infrastructure, a thriving outdoor recreation system and affordable housing.”

Steve can be reached by email at scepek@gmail.comthe

Riley McAllister

Riley McAllister has lived in Nederland for more than three years. He was born and raised in Colorado and previously lived in Evergreen, Colorado. He attended Lakewood High School and Northern Arizona University.

He is currently a safety officer for

Cross and Caribou gold and silver mine. His main focus as a trustee is to reestablish a good standing relationship with the businesses and the town, also to help redevelop 1st Street to be more functional and effective for the town.

He would like to see Nederland host some local festivals again like Nedfest to help grow community relationships and to inspire cultural and economic growth. Something needs to be done about the influx of tourists and the lack of public parking and the growing traffic control problem.

The Nederland Board of Trustees is working with Boulder County on a new Intergovernmental Agreement, after the current IGA expires. McAllister said he agrees with continuing the IGA and possibly assigning more responsibilities than the current IGA.

Environmental health is one of the first and foremost fronts that I believe the town of Nederland should be working with the local community and businesses to keep Nederland pristine and clean. Something also needs to be done about the local Nederland police department. As a board, we need to come to a decision about the future of our local police force, weighing the pros and cons of the possibility of contracting out to the Boulder County Sheriff.

The need for housing in Nederland is a constant struggle due to lack of space to develop new affordable housing and with the current growth of Nederland. 1st Street needs redevelopment to compensate for traffic and parking, as well as the design for heightened traffic throughout the town.

A second bridge would help efforts in congestion and also safety in case of any natural disaster. Parking is also an issue that I would like to see resolved.

“I believe that if we work together, the BOT can resolve all of these main issues and help clarify a lot more problems and come up with viable solutions effectively making a better Nederland.”

McAllister can be reached by email at Rmrileymcallister@gmail.com.

Jesse E Seavers

Jesse Seavers has lived in Nederland for 12 years in Old Town for four years and eight years now in Sunnyside. He previously lived in Boulder and his hometown of Silver City, New Mexico.

Jesse attended Silver High School in Silver City, New Mexico, the University of Colorado in Boulder and Naropa University. He owns and manages an excavation company in Nederland.

“I live with my wife and two daughters who attend Nederland schools. I employ eight people in the Nederland area. I regularly serve the mountain community with basic residential and commercial infrastructure needs as part of my daily work.”

Seavers co-founded and volunteered with the local nonprofit organization, NedCompost from 2010 to 2014, the Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board from 2012 to 2014, the Nederland Planning Commission from 2014 to 2016.

His top priorities as a trustee would be infrastructure: Walkability and bike- ability, water and waste systems, and renewable energy resource streams, and consideration of an additional bridge in town, supporting Public Works and safe, well-maintained roadways, and encouraging community engagement, neighborliness and solutions-oriented dialogue.

Regarding the Intergovernmental Agreement with Boulder County, Seavers said he favors starting from scratch and reconsidering and renegotiating all of our intergovernmental agreements. “I believe agreements should reflect the current negotiations and considerations of the people. Times change and IGAs should do the same.”

As a licensed septic installer in seven local counties, Seavers works directly with environmental health daily and values it highly. “I frequently install and maintain water utilities for our mountain residents. I feel water quality and wastewater treatment management is vital to a healthy environment.

“Environmental health should also include the natural environment we live in, inclusive of buildings and infrastructure. I’m happy that Nederland has governing documents which support the rights of nature.”

Environmental health should also include the socio-emotional health of our people. We have an opportunity to grow together as a community. “We can do better when it comes to getting along with one another and working through differences constructively and collaboratively in more enjoyable ways. We can choose to have fun with all of this, rather than strain to work together.

“We can learn to collaborate more and make sound decisions together in the political environment. Joyful collaboration creates better results, decisions and outcomes and cultivates more meaningful civic engagement as a result.”

Seavers supports the advancement of sustainable living. This includes the of multifamily units as a means for securing affordable housing for locals, but it also means encouraging lifestyle choices which contribute to the reduction of our human impact while also continuing to support viable economic resources for our town.

Learning to coexist is a part of living in the community. Short-term rentals are a great way for local homeowners to share resources and also educate visitors from a more authentic level around what it means to live with nature and fellow neighbors.

“I’d also like to see the town focus more on outdoor recreational infrastructure, such as biking and walking trails. We have a lot of public land in Nederland that is currently undeveloped and underutilized. This land is a valuable resource that represents who we are. I’d like to see it made available for walking, hiking and biking and enjoyed by Nederland residents and visitors.

Like it or not, our country operates on a capitalist economy. Yes, capitalism to some is a 4-letter word, but what if we used business and development as a source of good? What if we, as a local economy, set the intention to make a positive impact through business, development and human existence as a whole?

“I operate my own business and help locals develop their property on the basis of intending to create good. I believe in helping people first, then protecting our planet, then resourcing and infusing profits back into the communities. Business should be encouraged in Nederland as a way of providing jobs and income for Nederland residents. This is the best way to ensure that Nederland residents can afford to live here.

“I love bikes, hiking big mountains, skiing and snowboarding, surfing and traveling with my family. I’m mostly interested in completing the goal so there’s more time for us to play on the trail and enjoy quality time with our loved ones.

“I intend to work constructively with Nederland residents. I am highly invested in the success of my own local business as well as those of others. We are all blessed to live in such a beautiful and resource-rich place as Nederland, Colorado.”

Seavers can be reached by email at jseav19@gmail.com.