Barbara Lawlor, Nederland. Most of us have a Shangri-La, a place over the rainbow, an imagined paradise or an idyllic utopian place we dream of living in someday.

Nederland Public Works Director Jason Morrison has had this perfect place in mind since he was 15 years old, but it didn’t involve palm trees or misty warm springs or an emerald city. It was Fairplay, Colorado, a small historic mining town in South Park. When an employment opportunity came up this year, he jumped at the chance to move to the town that he has been intrigued with since his teen years.

It’s not that he doesn’t love Nederland and the friends he has made; he made this area his home decades ago. It’s just that he has always wanted to live in Fairplay.

When Jason was 18 years old he moved to Colorado and worked for the Colorado Department of Transportation. When the position of Nederland Public Works Director came up, Jason applied for the job. He wanted to work in the community he lived in, the place he chose to raise his family.

After interviewing for the position, he didn’t get the job. The person they hired lasted less than a year and the position was posted again. “I put my hat back in the ring again—that’s how much I wanted to work here,” says Jason. This time, he was hired.

At that time, September of 2011,  there were five employees. Since then, people came and went and responsibilities shifted. Over the years, Jason spent more time in the office planning and organizing, rather than in the field playing with graders, loaders, and other large machinery.

One of the largest accomplishments that has happened since Jason took over was the completion and operation of the wastewater and water treatment facility, a project that brought Nederland out of the sewer pond past and into a sustainable water future.

But, nothing ever goes as planned. Dealing with forces of nature can never be predicted. “Within months of everything going smoothly with the new plant, the 2013 flood knocked everything off line. We lost the sand filters, the part of the system that filtered the effluents going into Barker Reservoir. The flood washed the sand out of the filters and that had to be redone. But, considering what other towns and property owners went through, our situation was not all that bad.”

Dealing with Second Street culvert washouts and Big Springs Sinkhole, as well as flooded residences, kept town employees busy for many weeks after the epic September flood.

Unexpected surprises are always popping up, rising to the surface. A puddle that wouldn’t go away was discovered behind the Nederland Mining Museum. When the water was tested to see if there was chlorine in it, the excavators found an old rotted water line below the serface. They crimped the line, but the water kept bubbling up, so they had to dig to find the valve at the highway that would shut down the line. “We have probably lost millions of gallons of water over the years through that line,” says Jason.

While working on fixing the leak, a woman stopped to scold Jason, saying that she had used that spring when she was a young girl and she didn’t like that it was being dug up.

Residents, especially long-time residents, don’t often like change; and Jason was the first to get an earful during his efforts to make things more efficient. He said many improvements had been deferred and he often made many discoveries that had been underground or unknown.

“When someone doesn’t have water because an old PRV pipe vibrated itself closed, people get upset, but they don’t see the cause. We have been repairing them as we go.”

Jason says that when he began the job, no one had more than eight years experience, that he often had to go to long-time residents for information about old systems, which was a great way for him to get to know the community and its history.

As the repaving of the shopping center parking lot became one of the town’s major construction projects at the end of last year, Jason and Tebo, Dillon Development, and the Town worked out a combined effort win-win endeavor that benefits all involved.

Huge chunks of concrete were jackhammered and then loaded onto dump trucks for removal. Instead of hauling the concrete to a landfill down below, using up time and fuel, a deal was made for Dillon to store the concrete and soil that was excavated at the site of the future new public works facility near the green boxes.

Jason says, “Recycled concrete has all sorts of uses. Heath Dillon needed a place to store the concrete and Tebo Developers will bring in a mobile processing unit that will crush it and take the metal out. It will be recycled to three-quarter inch chunks, or class 6 road base.”

When the new town shop is built, the material will be used as landfill. Mount Tebo will become a base below the concrete. In return, Dillon will assist with the tree removal and earthwork at the site to make room.

“This way we diverted the concrete from going to landfill. Everybody was instantly on board. This is sustainable repurposing and recycling,” says Jason.

Another town-sponsored public event that has always been appreciated but has fielded its share of criticism is the annual free town cleanup. Although it is run by the Town, it is sponsored by Boulder County funds and the regulations and allotments are constantly changing and the number of bins and their purpose vary from year to year. It is the Town’s job to arrange the site, the day and the operations.

When Jason started running the event, there were 11 bins, but they were continually coming and going as they filled, usually all day long. When the location was changed to the Fisherman’s Parking Lot, the bins were brought up all at once and they filled rapidly, usually by noon and the loaded pickup trucks and vans were turned away.

“I caught a lot of flak. People thought they were being gypped when they arrived and we were closed.”

This year’s town cleanup will also be a major change. Boulder County plans to focus on divergence,  not on filling holes in the ground. The goal will be on more recycling, not just free trash removal.

Another much-needed but not popular change was adhering to the Manual On Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Any road open to the public must have signs that meet certain regulations: must be metal, must be a certain amount of feet off the ground and must be a certain density of reflectivity. All signs were evaluated and replaced if necessary.

The neighborhood street signs evoked some angry responses from some residents who liked the rustic wooden flavor of the old signs. These signs have been saved and some of them were even auctioned off at a fundraiser.

Plowing Nederland streets has long been a topic of controversy. Residents whose driveways lead onto a side street complain when a berm of snow is left behind by the plow. They say the drivers create an inconvenience for them.

Jason says, “It is our responsibility to keep two lanes clear for traffic. Back when there were fewer driveways, it was easier to clear them, but now it is not possible. We have three people plowing the entire town and the roads need to be cleared first for emergencies. We ask that people please be patient, we do the best we can to do what’s best for the entire town.”

Two months ago, Jason saw the ad for the Fairplay position and applied, knowing that if he were offered the job, he would take it. He had thought about living in the colder, windier town for 30 years. This was his chance. Three weeks ago, he learned he was on his way to Fairplay. He will be moving there soon to live in his hunting trailer, and his wife Kathy and two children will join him in a couple of months.

He said life won’t be as easy, as convenient as it is here. He will have a 20-minute drive to get milk and it will be a huge change for his family.

On Friday afternoon, after his last day of work for the town, Jason relaxed on the First Street Pub and Grill deck, enjoying a beer. “I am going to miss this,” he said. “I will miss hockey and driving the Zamboni and I will miss the very nice experience of going to Very Nice Brewing and being a part of this community. Niwot’s Curse has had me in its grip for 25 years and I believe in it, but I have been manifesting this move and  hopefully Niwot will give me a pass to leave.”

Niwot may, but his coworkers and friends who came to say goodbye were sorry to see him taking his leave.

Public Works employee Monica LaSalle says, “I have worked for Jason for over a year and I am extremely sorry to see him go. I have learned so much during my time with him, but I am also happy for him to have this new opportunity.”

Nederland Town Administrator Alisha Reis says, “Jason has worked very hard to grow the Public Works Department and support his staff, making it possible to advance the needs of the town infrastructure by leaps and bounds.”

Chris Pelletier and Danny Pollack gave a toast to Jason and the great relationships they have formed over the years and wished him well in his new home in Fairplay, at the end of Jason’s yellow brick road.