Dear Editor,

As I write, the furnace gently blows heat into the house, lights on, wood burning stove cold; I reflect upon the recent Xcel wind outage event.

Texting served as a great way to reach out and ensure friends were safe, having what they needed for the event. Social media served as a way to disseminate information; and publicly help many new to the area who had not experienced an extended winter outage event. Several hands helped neighbors both individually, and together once the community center opened their doors. Thank you. That's Mountain Strong. Old school, hand in hand helping each other.

As with snowmageddon earlier this year, I was disappointed in Town Hall's lack of preparedness, lack of preemptively reaching out to residents, and lack of any communication to guide.

I am not alone in this assessment. Helping residents prepare before, during and after is key in managing stressful events so events don't devolve into a crisis situation. In each event, there was prior notice to plan; granted, 2:15 p.m. is the new 3 p.m. according to Xcel.

If residents had known beforehand, many would have gladly accepted the hotel vouchers offered at the community center on Sunday, for Saturday night when they were huddled weathering the cold without electricity to supply heat. And, thank you Ned Transfer Station for letting everyone know you were closed til power restored.

Via social media, I learned there's an Emergency Management person on Town staff and looked it up: troyh@nederlandco.org at https:// townofnederland.colorado.gov/ Emergency-Management. I do not know if this is a salaried position; and have no idea what their job description is. They were invisible when residents needed guidance during snowmageddon and the Xcel outage; as was the rest of Town Hall, invisible.

To be bold, it would be prudent for Nederland Town residents to closely examine Town Hall staffing, independent contractors on payroll, and how your money is spent. We all remember the Town logo scenario.

It's your tax dollars, your Town. Residents should define how you want your government to be structured, you should look at exactly who (and what) your tax dollars are paying for, and how staff supports YOU, Nederland Town residents, 80466. Not the other way around.

Town Hall is not a corporation, it is not big government Washington DC. It is a itty bitty tiny government organization that exists purely to support approximately 2,000~ residents in a town that's about a square mile +/-; with a tax base that hasn't grown much over decades; yet Town Hall departments have.

Please know I write this with kindness and love for Town and my mountain neighbors. I've volunteered for over a decade in several ways; and continue to support this wonderful place I call home.

Thank you for reading. This is your Town, get involved as you can and ensure you receive the Town Hall infrastructure support you deserve, and pay for.

Deb D’Andrea

Nederland