NEDERLAND - The Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) began their meeting on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, with a special executive session that was closed to the public, during which the Board received legal advice about the possibility of purchasing property for “recreational activities and other municipal services.” 

Steps toward Eldora purchase 

Additionally, the BOT approved the ratification of a signed, non-binding Letter Of Intent with J.P. Morgan Securities LLC. as an underwriter regarding the issuing of revenue bonds as a financial device for the potential acquisition of Eldora Mountain Resort. 

Regarding the possibility of the acquisition, the Town has not provided an update to the public since the start of 2025, though there have been closed sessions dealing with purchasing property for the purpose of recreation on January 7, January 15, and March 24. 

Listen Longer
Max Marschhausen and members of the Mountain Coalition for Youth’s Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) led the BOT in a presentation about their Listen Longer project, which aims to present an art installation that also serves to create a safe space for all ages to engage in meaningful and constructive conversations. 

The “conversation chairs,” envisioned by local designer Ella Schrader, are designed as two connected ADA-compliant chairs, to be crafted from used skis. They will feature a QR code between them that will lead users to discussion topics that promote “social and emotional learning (SEL).”

Marschhausen, along with Eliza Brundege, Gideon Emery, Abby Hess, and Lauren Schrader of the YLA, each delivered information about the positive impact their project will have on individuals’ mental health, and how it will also foster cohesion within the community.

Mayor Billy Giblin and Mayor Pro Tem Nichole Sterling demonstrated the intent behind the chairs by sitting with Nederland Middle-Senior High School student and YLA member Amelie Bodnar, taking turns asking some SEL questions.       

Bodnar asked Sterling, “Who, alive or dead, you would take to dinner if you could, and where?” To which Sterling said she would take her grandparents to Crosscut. Mayor Giblin was asked the same question, to which he answered that he would have dinner with his father at Mustard’s Last Stand.

Sterling asked Bodnar about her fondest childhood memory, to which Bodnar recalled making homemade carrot cake with her mother. To Giblin’s question of where she sees herself in five years, Bodnar said that she would be just out of college and either traveling the world or in an internship for a design firm. 

“Conversation chairs”

The YLA has already received confirmation from Parks Manager Nicki Dunn that their planned set of chairs can be installed in Chipeta Park, though the group hopes to receive enough support and material to construct more chairs for other areas, potentially including Mud Lake. 

The chairs will be crafted to stand up to Nederland weather conditions, and are to be properly anchored when installed.

Trustee Aaron Tye offered to assist youth volunteers in building the chairs, and hinted that the YLA should ask the Mountain Forum for Peace about used skis, considering their Yard Sale is scheduled for the end of May. 

The YLA plans to begin fundraising and gathering materials for the project before the start of summer, and hopes to have the first two conversation chairs installed in Chipeta Park by early July. 

Road maintenance
Trustees received an update about the Nederland Streets Department’s 2025 Road Maintenance Schedule, which includes the pothole repairs on Lakeview and Snyder Streets and on School Road, as well as treatment for Peakview and Wildwood Drive, and Stinky Gulch.  

“For dirt and gravel roads, services include surface grading to eliminate ruts, ditch reshaping for improved drainage, application of additional road base material, and thorough compaction to ensure stability,” reads Department Manager Joshua Davis’s Agenda Information Memorandum (AIM). 

“Paved roads will undergo pothole patching and drainage improvements, along with sign maintenance. Regardless of the surface type, culverts will be inspected and cleaned or replaced when necessary to promote effective water flow and avoid infrastructure damage due to flooding or erosion.”

The Town’s Road Maintenance Schedule will be included, and continually updated, on the Town of Nederland’s website. 

Salt and sand storage

Additionally, the Streets Department provided an update on the contractor selection process for the construction of a prefab Salt and Sand Storage Building. Of the four contractors contacted, only two were able to provide bids within or below the Town’s $25,000 budget for the project. 

The Streets Department chose to contract with Porterhouse Construction for $23,500 for the construction of the building, set to be 34’ x 25’ x 17’. 

Trustees also gave their accolades to Davis for his exemplary leadership and dedication to the community, noting his popular public outreach in his updates posted on social media, as well as his volunteer contributions. 

EV charger
The BOT were tasked with voting on whether they wanted to renew their three-year Commercial Cloud Plan subscription and Assure Maintenance and Management coverage with ChargePoint, which provides and operates the Level 2 EV charger located in the Nederland Visitors Center parking lot. 

The Town’s cloud plan subscription expired on March 19, while the Assure coverage ended in November of 2021. According to the AIM, prepared by Sustainability Coordinator Cass Grady and Community Planner Britt DeMinck, “the Town needs to renew their subscription in order to continue operating the Level 2 ChargePoint EV Charger and ensure there is coverage for any repairs that may be needed.”

The subscription and coverage can cost a total of $3,830 for three years, with a multi-year contract saving the Town a total of $340. Though the BOT did not budget for these services, Town staff is recommending to renew the subscription and coverage for either two or three years, and to draw the funds from the Planning and Zoning budget. 

Because of the constricted budget and the potential for the technology to change within the next three years, Trustees voted to renew their Commercial Cloud Plan subscription and Assure Maintenance and Management coverage for one year only. 

NedRINK transition
The Board also received an informational update from Town Administrator Jonathan Cain regarding NedRINK’s transition from the winter ice rink to summer tennis and pickleball courts. 

Cain detailed how the change in orientation of the tennis courts from a north-to-south to an east-to-west alignment will preserve the aging rink boards and decrease the amount of labor while also leaving access to a pickleball setup unchanged.

The Nederland Board of Trustees meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at 7 p.m. and can be attended either online or in person at the Nederland Community Center. 

For more information go to: https://townofnederland.colorado.gov/board-of-trustees.