John Scarffe, Nederland.     The Town of Nederland Board of Trustees met new interim Town Marshal Paul Carrill during the Board’s regular meeting on Tuesday, August 5. Current Marshal Jim Matheney turned in his resignation, and his last day will be Friday, August 8.

Matheney told the Board that, after reading comments on Facebook that he was resigning because he was attacked by aliens—which is not true—he should explain his reason for resigning. He never acclimated to the altitude in Nederland, and his doctor said he should be living and working at a lower elevation.

Town Administrator Alisha Reis has been the best boss he’s ever had, he said, and has been very supportive, Matheney said. He will cherish his time here and would like to thank the Council for its support. “I’ve always believed in giving back to the community,” he said, explaining that he donated $1,000 of his own money during renovation of Town facilities. Earlier Tuesday he gave the Town $1,500 as some form of repayment for the Town’s time in hiring a marshal.

He said Interim Marshal Paul Carrill has extensive experience. The first time he met Carrill was when he was interviewed for Town Marshal. Carrill also is an FBI national graduate, and that day Matheny asked Carrill why he didn’t apply. Carrill had said he wanted to retire.

When Matheney’s medical condition occurred, he went to Reis and said he had a great guy who could take right over. Carrill cares about the community and volunteers at the mining museum. “He is the perfect candidate for this. He’s already well-informed about the department and knows all the officers,” Matheney said.

Carrill has more than 25 years of law enforcement and emergency response training and experience; experience in patrol, investigations, law enforcement operations, and administrative operations. He is also experienced in communication, coordination, and cooperation with federal, state, county, and local law enforcement, as well as with the greater community. He has 24 years of assisting city, county, state, and federal prosecutors with investigating, collecting, preparing, and presenting physical evidence and testifying in court, as well as a wide variety of other law enforcement experience.

Carill told the Board he retired from Kansas City law enforcement and moved to Nederland to enjoy the mountain life.  He and his wife, a  retired FBI agent, spent two years finding the right community, starting in Englewood and Jamestown.

They found Nederland, a mountain community with all the amenities—library, grocery store, liquor store, and hardware store. “The town made such a huge impression on us,” Carrill said.

“I enjoy law enforcement and I have had a lot of opportunities to be involved in the community. Hopefully I can provide that to the Marshal’s office. I’m new to you guys. It’s six months. I’m not going anywhere. I’m acclimated to the altitude.”

Reis said that although Carrill is an interim marshal, the Town still did all the background checking they would with any candidate. “This is an exceptional candidate who could be more long term,” she said.

Nederland resident Barbara Hardt told the Board: “I wanted to say welcome to Paul and thank you, Jim. What you have done in a couple of months has been amazing, and I hope you get along at the lower altitude, wherever that may be.”

The Board approved hiring Carrill but stipulated that the hiring date should be changed to August 5.

The next meeting of the Nederland Board of Trustees will be on Tuesday, August 19, at 7 p.m. in the Nederland Community Center, 750 Highway 72, Nederland. For more information about the Nederland Board of Trustees meeting, go online and see other articles in the next edition of The Mountain-Ear.