John Scarffe

Nederland

Following his swearing in during a regular meeting of the Nederland Board of Trustees at 7 p.m., December 19, 2017, at the Nederland Community Center, Nederland Marshal Larry Johns presented a proposal for nighttime policing needs and a contract for policing services with Boulder County Sheriff’s Office. Mayor Kris Larsen also updated the Board regarding the process to revise the 2002 Boulder County Land Use intergovernmental agreement (IGA).  

Beginning on December 30, 2017, the Nederland Police force will include a Marshal, one officer in training and a police clerk, due to the resignation of Officer Josh Follett. “Staff is recommending that the town pursue a temporary contract with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) to provide nighttime police services, which will give the Nederland Police force time to recruit and hire more officers.”

The Board has been presented with several options for contract police services available from the BCSO. Johns told the Board that Option 3 is the only one they’ve considered so far. He has met with the undersheriff and discussed some things for temporary night-time coverage.

Option 1 would provide for a full-service contract with the BCSO and the Town of Nederland. Option 2 would provide nighttime coverage from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. seven days a week with a deputy committed to the condensed Nederland Service Area.

Option 3 would provide the town with deputy coverage from 10 p.m. until 6 am, seven days a week. BCSO would commit the deputy to answer calls for service in Nederland, as well as to patrol Nederland 50 percent of their uncommitted time. The town would get 56 hours of coverage for the cost of one 42-hour, full-time employee.  

Staff recommended pursuing a temporary contract with BCSO for nighttime policing needs as outlined in Option 3. Johns said they are pursuing a hybrid agreement with them, and they said, “You figure what you need, and we will work it out from that. We are looking for something that is temporary.”

Mayor Kristopher Larsen asked if they would still be hiring two new officers. Johns said they will bring the staff to five, but it depends on what the application pool is like. They will keep the town covered as much as possible.

BCSO will take calls on an emergency basis when no one is on duty. Gerrity said the third option will cost $121,000. “We are looking at that, and they have been very supportive to work out the schedule that we need.”

Johns is talking to a couple of candidates who might want to come back to the community and this is why they want that month before signing on the dotted line. “We are going to have to have some supplemental law enforcement services,” Gerrity said.

Trustee Dallas Master said: “I’m fine with this as a temporary measure. We need to review how we would negotiate this in the future.” Gerrity replied: “This has been a process of six months or more. Now that the police parity pay is in place, people are coming back to us. We’re going to see that we will be able to attract officers.”

Masters said that police parity was a temporary measure, and if the Trustees pursue that, they would be increasing the police department. It is important to hire a consultant.

Gerrity said that the Town is paying for police parity by reducing one position. Instead of a $20,000 difference in starting pay it’s a $10,000 difference. There are people who really want to work here.

“We’ve worked out a stop gap solution that will take us through the end of January,” Gerrity said. “Be ready. It could be January 16 or the first meeting in February, and we’re going to come back to you and let you know where we are with hiring and negotiations and we will take it to legal.”

Mayor Larsen said he thinks staff has Board direction. He then updated the Board regarding the process to revise the 2002 Boulder County Land Use IGA.

On March 7, 2002, Nederland and Boulder County entered into an IGA for the Nederland Area Boulder County Comprehensive Development Plan. The plan ensures that the unique and individual character of Nederland will be preserved and recognizes that annexed and developed areas approved by Nederland are for the preservation of the rural character of surrounding lands within the plan area.

The IGA defines the Plan Area as the Nederland Town Limits and the Rural Preservation Area, which begins at the edge of the town limits, extending west to the Continental Divide, south to the Gilpin County line, north of Sugar Loaf Road and east to Boulder Falls. It also includes the Eldora Town site.

“The Town agrees it will not initiate nor approve any annexation of any Rural Preservation Area lands unless such annexation is referred for recommendation to the Boulder County Planning Commission, approved by the Boulder County Board of County Commissioners, referred by recommendation by the Nederland Planning Commission, approved by the Nederland Board of Trustees, and approved at an election of the qualified electors of the Town of Nederland, with the applicant for any such annexation to bear all costs and fees associated with such election,” states the IGA.

Larsen has been meeting with Boulder County’s planning group, and the Board of Trustees has been looking at the IGA draft. This is not something that is happening behind closed doors. They have completed a first draft.

Larsen said he will be meeting again next week and then would like to bring it to a public hearing. They would then be open for further negotiation, because the Boulder County Commissioners haven’t weighed in, but the staff has.

Mayor Pro-Tem Charles Wood suggested the Board do a statement of principles in plain language that the Trustees and the public can understand and then send that to the attorneys. Trustee Topher Donahue asked if the Trustees can have a work session with Boulder County. Larsen said the Trustees do have a dinner scheduled with Boulder County on January 16, 2018.

They could have a meeting with Boulder County staff next week and could let them know they want to talk about the IGA on January 16, Larsen said. At the meeting that night, the specific points that have been changed will be explained in plain English. Then it would go through the Nederland planning process.

Arapahoe Ranch Owner Kayla Evans, who has a proposal for annexation with the Town and affordable housing at Bobcat Ridge near the High School, said this is the thing we’ve been dancing around. The IGA is up in 2022, and four years from now the Town can decide not to have an IGA.

“I’ve been involved with this for nine years,” Evans said. “We need affordable housing desperately.”

Larsen said that is one of the parts of the revised IGA, and Wood said Evans couldn’t annex because we had this IGA and the County has chosen not to let you do that. Larsen said this is no longer the purpose of the IGA process, but we want to move forward so the public can see possible future annexations.

“We’re looking at how to move forward on that. It’s divorced from any specific project,” Larsen said. Is everyone agreed on January 16 and putting the item on the Board’s agenda in early February for an introduction of the IGA to the public along with plain language?

Wood said that were it not for this IGA, Nederland and property owners could agree on an annex. “I understand what we’re trading when we give up those rights. If we care enough we’ll manage it ourselves.

“A goal of mine would be not to give up autonomy in terms of zoning, density and housing authority. That remains a local decision,” Wood said.

Trustee Kevin Mueller said: “My goal, and Boulder County has been doing it better than anyone else on the Front Range, is the preservation of nature. They helped stop sub developments like Big Springs.”

The Board met on Tuesday, January 16. The next meeting of the Nederland Board of Trustees will be on Tuesday, February 6, in the multi-purpose room of the Nederland Community Center.