John Scarffe, Nederland. The Nederland Downtown Development Authority made progress toward placing a debt authorization on the November ballot at the regular meeting on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, at the Nederland Community Center. The NDDA Board discussed a letter to NDDA District members asking for support, an agreement for special council and priority projects.
Board Chair Katrina Harms said that at a Nederland Board of Trustees and NDDA work session on March 15, Trustees asked the NDDA to show that the district approved of the NDDA and its master plan. The NDDA worked on a letter at the last board meeting.
Along with the letter, as NDDA Board members get signatures, they also will hand out a fact sheet and copies of the master plan, Harms aid. The letter states: “The NDDA Board would like to know if you see value in the NDDA’s charter for aggregating a portion of property tax for the purpose of improvements within the Commercial Business District as outlined in the 2016 Master Plan.
“Do you support the NDDA’s mission of using these allocated funds to continue to improve the infrastructure and promote economic development in the downtown area for the benefit of businesses, property owners and, ultimately, the residents and visitors to Nederland?
Would you be willing to attend a Board of Trustees meeting to show your support of the NDDA?”
The Board approved engagement with Kim Crawford from Butler Snow for special counsel to the NDDA for the 2017 debt authorization. Harms said that Crawford was one of the original authors of the legislation that created DDAs. Her firm assists municipalities in bond elections, and she has experience with other DDAs in Colorado.
Crawford proposed a scope of services that will include assisting the NDDA in the conduct of an election to authorize a tax and debt increase for the NDDA. “We will work cooperatively with the Town to draft documents and ensure compliance with election details,” Crawford wrote in her proposal.
Her services include drafting the resolution of both the NDDA and the Town, setting the ballot title, calling the election and assisting the Town with the notice mailed to electors. Crawford will be principally responsible for the work performed. Fees will not exceed $5,000.
The Board also reviewed a project priority list for the debt authorization. Harms said that the feedback from the failed debt authorization showed that voters wanted more specifics on projects, including cost.
The list should also be shorter and include more detail. The proposed list for 2017discussion includes NedPeds improvements and maintenance; vehicular and pedestrian signage and wayfinding; beatification, including public art, noxious weed mitigation, landscaping and public works summer support; Lakeview and Big Springs intersection traffic, sidewalk and parking improvements; a river walk and wetland preservation project; event infrastructure support; Visitor Center management and improvements; Business Improvement Program (loans, grants, PACE, etc); and a second Crossing at Middle Boulder Creek.
The next regular meeting of the NDDA Board will be on Wednesday, June 21, 2017, at 6:30 p.m., at the Nederland Community Center.
(Originally published in the June 1, 2017 print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)
