The Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) met on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the results of the public survey concerning the Town of Nederland drafting its own Annexation Ordinance. Trustees also reviewed the draft of the Town’s 2023 budget.

The BOT approved within their Consent Agenda a resolution to approve an amendment to the Town Administrator’s Employment Agreement, which increases the base salary to $81,120.27 with an included bonus of $3,900.

The BOT also approved within their Consent Agenda to move Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) alternate Ryan Villalon into a regular board member position. The vacancy on the BZA was created by the resignation of Debbie Davenport, who resigned on Sunday, November 6. Villalon had been appointed to the BZA as an alternate on Tuesday, November 1. Town staff will officially post the vacant alternate position on the BZA by Friday, November 18.

The BOT continued their discussion of a draft Annexation Ordinance. Town Attorney Jennifer Madsen presented several sample Annexation Agreements. On Tuesday, September 13, the BOT provided guidance regarding the process and review criteria to be detailed in the ordinance language, as well as specifying the annexation conditions that would trigger a municipal election.

Trustees raised concerns about property acreage and density being factors to consider, and specified that applicants be responsible for providing traffic studies and water rights reports to the Town, as well as cover fees if their annexation application were to trigger an election.

The BOT had directed Town staff to create an annexation ordinance draft at that September 13 meeting. On Tuesday, October 4, Attorney Madsen provided the BOT with the draft annexation ordinance and sample agreement to review and provide additional thoughts and guidance. At that October 4 meeting, Trustees directed Town staff to release a public survey as well as to draft three versions of an annexation ordinance.

The public survey asked at what point should an annexation petition be referred to a town-wide election. Out of 97 responses,14.4% answered that an annexation petition should go to election when the property to be annexed is greater than five acres, and 16.5% supporter an election when the proposed zoning for any parcel to be annexed would be of a different zoning class than any of the adjacent parcels currently within town boundaries, regardless of the size of the property to be annexed.

Also according to the survey results, 40.2% answered that the BOT should not refer any annexation petitions to a town-wide election. However, in the “additional comments” portion of the survey, the majority of written responses suggested that all annexation petitions should be referred to a townwide election – which was not one of the eight options for the one-question survey.

Trustees discussed how annexation could create an environmental impact on the town, which includes the impact on conservation areas, wetlands, animal migration areas, and the overall impact on local plant life and wildlife. The BOT also continued to discuss the required cost to the petitioner as well as the factors within an annexation petition that would create a need for an election.

Madsen commented that the decision by town residents whether or not to refer annexation petitions to an election typically involves trust in the BOT as the representative government to make the best decisions for the municipality.

Trustees disagreed on the importance of including language in the annexation policy to specify conditions that would lead to a public election. Those Trustees in opposition to triggered public elections felt that residents already have the power to petition for an election if they are opposed to the BOT’s decision to accept an annexation petition.

The BOT voted 4 - 3 to omit any language referring to the triggering criteria for a public election. The issue of Nederland’s Annexation Ordinance will return to the BOT’s agenda as an Action Item on December 6.

Nathan Skalak from the engineering firm JVA and Nederland Streets Supervisor Emmett Pelletier presented updates to Section 5 of the Town’s Master Infrastructure Plan. Section 5 of the plan dictates stormwater quality, drainage, and roadways, and the updates to Section 5 will include a prioritized list of projects along with an anticipated date of completion for each project.

Some of the priority projects include fixing roadway and drainage issues on Navajo Trail, which features steep terrain, creates sediment runoff, and fills the culverts and discharges out onto the highway. Also drainage issues in Old Town, specifically the area of West Pine Street, South Jefferson Street, and West Spring Street, would be made a priority, considering the area features shallow culverts which easily get clogged. There are also continuous roadway and drainage issues in the Big Springs neighborhood.

The BOT also discussed final revisions to draft ordinances implementing tax initiatives which Nederland registered electors passed in the November 8 election.

Draft Ordinance 831 covers the 0.25% increase to Nederland’s sales tax, bringing it to a total of 4.25%. The revenue from the sales tax increase was earmarked for police personnel, equipment, and facilities, as well as personnel to support other Town services. Trustees needed to decide how they wanted to implement the earmarking of the increased revenue from the sales tax increase.

Draft Ordinance 832 covers the $2 increase to the Short Term Rental (STR) occupational tax, bringing it to a total of $4 per bedroom per night.

Draft Ordinance 833 covers the implementation of a 5.0% special retail marijuana sales tax, with the revenue earmarked for the Nederland Parks Department. The question before the BOT was whether they wanted to create a Parks and Recreation fund for allocating the special retail marijuana sales tax.

Trustees disagreed on creating a special isolated fund for the Nederland Police Department (NPD) through which to allocate the sales tax revenue, with those Trustees in opposition citing that law enforcement has always been funded through the town’s General Fund. Trustees were also tentative about creating a special fund for the NPD at this time, considering the NPD is not staffed or functional.

Trustees discussed the percentages of the split of the revenue from the $4 STR occupational tax, with the initial ballot language indicating a split between Health and Human Services and the NPD. Trustees mostly agreed to keep the split as is.

The BOT also disagreed on the matter of creating a Parks and Recreation fund for allocating the revenue from the special retail marijuana sales tax. Those Trustees in opposition wished to stay consistent and to not create a special fund for Parks and Recreation just as the Board decided not to create a special fund for the NPD. Trustees gave direction to the Town to create a Parks Fund.

The BOT must approve these ordinances at their special meeting on Tuesday, November 29.

Fisher and Town Treasurer Rita Six led the BOT in a discussion centered on the current draft of the 2023 town budget, which Trustees were to review. They have to indicate any changes before a final draft is to be brought before a public hearing on November 29.

The focus of the discussion was on reviewing tax trends, the fund balances and reserves balances, and the changes made to the budget since their last special meeting on October 25. Six recommended lowering the budgeted sales tax revenue by 1%, leading to $43,000 less revenue across all funds, and more than a $21,000 decrease in revenue to the General Fund.

Six noted the changes to the General Fund, indicating that the revenue from the three approved tax initiatives on the November 8 ballot was included. Also the creation of a Parks and Recreation fund will require more changes to be made to the budget to indicate revenue transfers from the General Fund to the Parks and Recreation special fund.

The 2023 draft budget also included revenue from selling off some of the older NPD vehicles, as well as an expense of $25,300 for updated computers and server systems across all departments except the NPD. Town staff also included within the budget the salary for a newly created Community & Sustainability Coordinator position and also budgeted $30,000 revenue and expenditure under Paid Parking.

Minimum wage for Public Works staff was increased to $21 an hour. The equipment budget for the Streets department was raised by $100,000. $30,120 was added to the Utilities department budget for hiring a firm to assist in assessing water rights. Town staff also added the cost of a newly added part-time temporary employee to the Parks department, as well as line items for “Donation” and “Supplies for Resale” to be added to the Parks department budget.

The BOT will continue discussion on the 2023 town budget at a public hearing on November 29, and will vote on final approval of the 2023 budget on Tuesday, December 6.

The Nederland Board of Trustees meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month. Their next scheduled meeting is on Tuesday, December 6, at 7 p.m. and can now be attended either online or in person at the Nederland Community Center. For more information go to: https://townofnederland.colorado.gov/ board-of-trustees