Brooke Perry, Nederland.  

The Nederland Parks, Recreation, and Open-Space Advisory Board (PROSAB) held a community meeting on Wednesday, August 25, 2021, at 5:30 p.m. The meeting was regarding the site plan for the Frozen Dead Guys Festival for 2022. The question before the board was whether to approve using the 2020 site plan for the 2022 event.

PROSAB had unanimously approved the 2020 site plan, which permitted use of Guercio Field without restrictions or conditions. The event organizers were to submit a mud and snow mitigation plan. The event organizers would also be required to pay a higher deposit to cover any possible damages to the field.

Public Works requested that PROSAB weigh in on the site plan because of Frozen Dead Guy Days’ history of failing to return the site to its original condition. They also had concerns about the impact the event would have on Guercio field, which is currently being developed as a part of the Great Outdoors Colorado Resilient Communities grant.

“I cannot in good faith as a fiduciary, responsible business person, who believes in social responsibility, say that 25,000 people aren’t going to have an impact on the field,” said Sarah Martin, event co-owner and organizer for Frozen Dead Guy Days. “So, with that being said, I cannot offer a solution.”

Before the meeting, in communication with Deputy Town Administrator Miranda Fisher, organizers were told that they would not be able to use the field, after a notification from Public Works Director Chris Pelletier stated a soil engineer recommended otherwise. At a meeting on July 29, 2021, Fisher had recommended the festival organizers consider moving the event to East Street.

Amanda MacDonald, Frozen Dead Guys event organizer and co-owner, did not accept the terms that Guercio be returned to its original condition. Fisher had sent a permit letter outlining the conditions for the festival on August 2, 2021. An update to the permit requested that the event organizers offer proposed expectations for Town staff regarding snow and mud mitigation.

Martin said, “the reason why we have not come back with a solution … is that there aren’t reasonable, workable solutions to having 25,000 people [on the site]….I am not downplaying or diminishing the value of Guercio field, and we want to be good stewards of the town. We want to leave as little impact as possible.”

Martin says that they have “bent over backward” to make this event happen every year and made mistakes in the past years, but they have been able to pull it off with hard work, hoping for another chance. Mentioning the financial benefit to the town of the event, Martin added that if payment is within a reasonable range for mitigation, they will attempt to get a grant to cover the cost.

As the meeting prepared to end, PROSAB chose to approve the 2020 site plan for the festival. The deposit amount will be decided after analysis from Public Works staff.