John Scarffe, Nederland. After a discussion about a moratorium on retail marijuana establishments during a regular online meeting on Tuesday, August 4, 2020, at 7 p.m., the Nederland Board of Trustees called an emergency meeting for Tuesday, August 11, to take action on the item. The Board also approved a proposal from Engineering Firm JVA to design a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) project for the Town and a draft of the Owner’s Project Requirements for the project, following a work session at 6 p.m. with the Sustainability Advisory Board.

The Board discussed a moratorium on new marijuana stores, due to an interest from some vendors. Mayor Kristopher Larsen said the town now has five marijuana retail stores, and five is enough. 

Larsen asked the Trustees if they had an appetite to work on this. Town Clerk Miranda Fisher said the Board will have a request for a new dispensary at the next Board meeting, so the new applicants request for a retail marijuana license would have to be considered in a public hearing before the Board, unless the Board passed a moratorium.

“If they meet code and the requirements, you can’t reject it. It’s similar to the process for a liquor license,” Fisher said. The new proposed business would be located at 236 Fifth Street near Stinky Gulch and will come straight before the Board of Trustees.

The Board suggested an emergency meeting next week. Town Attorney Jennifer Madsen said a moratorium through an emergency ordinance will put a hold on that application and stop the processing of all applications. It would be cleaner if they do it next week.

The Board agreed with a nod of six to proceed with action on a moratorium next week. They will come up with language for a draft ordinance by Thursday, and take action on it at a meeting on Tuesday, August 11. 

Regarding the TIP project, Nederland was awarded $1.5 million for the Transportation Improvement Program in September of 2019. The project consists of a multi-modal sidewalk from Town Hall to the RTD Park-n-Ride and on Jefferson Street in front of Kathmandu, according to the agenda information memorandum.

The project will also include electric charging stations and bike racks. This project includes financial support from the Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA). 

On December 31, 2018, an abstract for the project’s application was submitted to the technical committee, and on February 13, 2019, the NDDA approved staff’s application for TIP and agreed to fund an additional $69,000, according to the memo. 

On February 16, 2019, the Trustees approved the application for TIP funding and staff’s conceptual project, and on May 15, 2019, the NDDA voted to approve an additional $70,000 for a total of $139,000 to augment the TIP project funds so that Jefferson Street and the Visitor Center parking lot could be improved. 

On September 4, 2019, Nederland’s TIP Project was awarded $1.5 million, and on February 4, 2020, the Trustees voted to approve an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Colorado Department of Transportation for the TIP project. On April 21, 2020, the Trustees approved an on-call engineering contract with JVA Inc., and in May of 2020, the TIP project was presented to the Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) and Parks Recreation Open Space Advisory Board (PROSAB) for input. 

On June 24, 2020, the Board approved releasing the task order to JVA for a proposal to design and manage the project. Staff also received notice to proceed from CDOT. 

At the August 4, 2020, meeting, JVA submitted a proposal for design work. Public Works Manager Chris Pelletier said they have been talking about this for more than a year and talked about it at the last Board meeting. “l am looking for Board consensus to move on to design.” 

Pelletier further stated that “It’s a long, rigid process, and this is the next step to move forward to design.” The Trustees said it looks fine and is well written. They approved the proposal for design of the TIP project.

Later in the meeting, Pelletier introduced a draft of the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR) for the TIP Program. Staff created the draft OPR for the Board’s review and input.

Staff has been following the guidelines of Nederland’s Planning Process and has given presentations and received feedback from PROSAB, SAB, and the Planning Commission as part of the proposal phase, according to the memo. Suggestions from the Boards have been incorporated into the OPR. 

Staff was looking for direction from the Trustees to satisfy the collaboration portion of the Nederland Planning Process and ultimately come back for the final approval phase of the project and process. Pelletier told the Board he has been moving along through the Nederland Planning Process and has talked to the Planning Commission and the other Boards. He wants to get to the finish line and put this in front of the NDDA. 

“It helps to establish goals,” Pelletier said. The Town wants some flexibility to include what they want in sidewalks, utilities and gardens and still satisfy the grant criteria. They are looking at eliminating two-way traffic on Jefferson Street and West First Street, so traffic will be going in one direction. It would eliminate congestion leaving the Visitor Center parking lot, and they could have parallel parking on West First Street.

The Trustees liked the proposal and suggested getting NDDA approval, making a final draft and bringing it back to the Board with good visuals of crosswalks.

Pelletier also submitted a request for the Board to approve staff submitting a grant application for a program called Safer Main Streets Initiative administered by DRCOG and support for staff to request that the NDDA fund the required match for this project. 

Staff has been made aware of the grant opportunity through Safer Main Streets Initiative that promotes pedestrian safety and alternative transportation, according to the memo. Staff receive community input every year regarding crosswalk safety in town and excessive speeds on the highway. The sidewalk on the north side of Highway 72 is not ADA compliant. 

Staff proposed improving existing soil sidewalks on the Peak to Peak Highway 72, adding improved pedestrian crossing at First Street and Highway 119, adding improved pedestrian crossing at the Library pedestrian crossing on Highway 72 and installing traffic calming components to reduce speeds. 

Staff proposed submitting an application for $350,000 with a 20 percent required match and requested that the NDDA support the required match for this project. With the NDDA’s Support, this will result in no impact to the General Fund.

Pelletier said this is a grant opportunity through DRCOG for pedestrian and bicycle safety, with a bit of Covid sprinkled in. He has a few project ideas based on feedback, and this is an opportunity to fix things, such as pedestrian crosswalks, because he gets feedback on painting them, and CDOT can be slow.

“That’s one thing that can be fixed,” Pelletier said. The second piece they could address is improving the surface of the sidewalk by the library. 

Mayor Larsen asked if they could propose a raised crosswalk, and Pelletier said they could along with changing materials or signaling, which could be a good fit. The Board said this would connect with the TIP project.

Pelletier said he would talk to the NDDA on August 12 to see if the Board is in favor supporting the project, and if so, submit the grant on August 14. The Board gave a nod of four to pursue the grant and NDDA funding.

(Originally published in the August 13, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)