John Scarffe, Nederland. The Nederland Board of Trustees approved two new duplexes at the Little Bear Village site during a regular on-line meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 10, 2020. The Board also approved the replacement of an obsolete control center for Nederland Community Center Mechanical Systems and a grit removal proposal. 

Little Bear Village

The Board considered a Final Planned Unit Development and Density Increase for Ellen Mode-Bulliung and Dennis Bulliung at 575 N. Peak to Peak Highway (Little Bear Village). They intend to construct two new duplexes with a total of four units, each unit providing three bedrooms and a one-car garage after demolition of the existing structure. 

They intend to reuse historic materials from the Little Bear School where possible. The property is in the Neighborhood Commercial (NC) zoning district, which is the only district that allows a density increase provided that all requisite conditions are met, according to the agenda information memorandum. 

The PUD application requires at least 8,000 square feet, and the subject parcel is 11,761 total square feet, which could allow up to five units maximum, but the applicants desire to build a total of four units. The applicants provided a detailed presentation at the August 26 Nederland Planning Commission meeting. Concerns by adjacent neighbors were presented at the Preliminary and Final PUD Public Hearing at the Planning Commission in July and August as well as the Board of Trustees meeting in September. 

Among the concerns, the building height blocking the western views, additional traffic and congestion in the general area, especially prior to understanding the impacts of the BCHA Tungsten Village Affordable Housing Development which has recently reached completion and has been filling up with new occupants. The adjacent neighbor at the Knotted Root Brewery also spoke to concerns about site drainage between the buildings. 

Additional parking is planned for the southeast corner and provided north of the structures in the western corner. The parcel has access in all seasons from West Fourth Street off the Peak to Peak Scenic Highway. 

The applicants anticipate project completion by May to June 2021. The Density Increase also requires a total of 25 percent of the parcel be landscaped open space, not to include parking, and the applicants have planned for that. 

On September 15, 2020, the Board considered the PUD and Density Increase. After a thorough discussion, the Board continued the application to October 20, 2020, with the conditions that the applicants complete a viewshed analysis, maximum height of 24 feet, and a good faith effort be made to modify the architectural design so that it fits better within the neighborhood. On October 20, the Board approved an extension to November 10 as requested by the applicants. 

During the past two months, the Bulliung’s have been working on addressing the conditions identified by the Board and provided an update to their plans at the November 10 meeting. The applicants consulted with an architect at Verso LLC about completing a viewshed analysis and have reduced the height of the building to 24’1”. 

The applicants noted that the Town has similar architectural designs to what they are proposing. Ellen and Dennis Bulliung told the Board that it’s been said many times they are not outsiders. They have been in the area since 2008 and want to retire here. Dennis said he has a long history with Eldora and Nederland. 

Architecturally, the buildings are across from the fire station and will be overall compatible with a stone skirt and natural log siding. Color schemes will be greens and muted colors. The brewery is 20 feet away, and they will be just a little higher. It provides much needed housing in Nederland and is redevelopment in Town instead of additional tracks on the outside. 

Trustees said the proposal is very thorough and were inclined to move forward. The Board approved the PUD and density increase for Little Bear Village LLC with the condition that the height of the buildings be 24’1”.

Obsolete Control Center

Presented as a discussion item, the Board considered replacement of an obsolete control center for Nederland Community Center mechanical systems. The controls for the Community Center mechanical system run by an obsolete model (Johnson Controls FX40) off the old Windows XP operating system. “This is a security risk for the Town,” according to the memo.

Previous discussions and plans of replacing the system were discontinued due to budget limitations. After reviewing the system, Andrew White of Mechanical Concepts, estimated a rough replacement budget of our Metasys system at $3,000 per controller assuming all sensors, actuators, relays, etc., could be used by the new system. 

Understanding this was cost prohibitive, White recommended contacting Art Collins of CCA to address concerns as the next step in the process. Staff recommended the use of fund balance dollars to replace the obsolete FX40 control center with a CatNet systems CH-2 for a total price of $14,850 from Collins Controls Associates Inc. This solution allows the Town to replace the control center only, eliminating the need for the computer which runs an unsupported operating system and allowing for scheduled budgeting of individual unit controllers.

Town Administrator Karen Gerrity said she feels strongly about this agenda item. The Nederland Community Center is a vital part of the community and has Nederland Seniors delivering food, Health and Human Services operates out of there, and it is critical. 

“We have a very out of date obsolete control center for mechanical systems. This is really outdated and putting us in a dangerous place.” 

Trustees agreed that CH-2 is the better source and moved the item from a discussion item to an action item and then voted to approve.

Grit Removal

Public Works Manager Chris Pelletier introduced a proposal from the Town’s on-call engineers, JVA Engineering Inc., to design and permit grit removal for the Wastewater Treatment Facility. Staff has discussed the need for grit removal with the Trustees on multiple occasions. 

Nederland’s facility lacks equipment to remove grit from the treatment process which has an impact on mechanical operations at the facility, according to the memo. Grit removal avoids excess wear and tear on the facility’s pumps and improves operational efficiencies. 

Staff presented adding this equipment to the treatment process and thinks a strong argument can be made to the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) to fund 50 percent of the cost of this equipment, thereby maximizing the Town’s dollars and reducing the overall cost to the town by 50 percent. 

“An argument can be made that grit removal will protect the new Biosolids Facility which is a critical asset that DOLA has recently invested in. Staff believes that having a permitted design and budgeted funds for half the cost of the proposed equipment will strengthen the Town’s application for funds and will show the Town’s commitment toward this effort,” according to the memo. 

Pelletier told the Board he was excited about this piece of equipment, and he was here tonight with Andrew Sparn with JVA and his team that designed this. After discussing with Andrew, Pelletier said JVA could design and permit removal for $46,000. 

The idea is by having a permit and design in hand and having a budget will place the Town in position, so they are shovel ready to begin the project. 

The Board approved funding for the project.

The Board met on Tuesday, November 17, 2020. The next meeting of the Nederland Board of Trustees will be on December 1, 2020. Go to https://nederlandco.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=299.

(Originally published in the November 19, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)