John Scarffe, Nederland. During a regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 16, 2019, in the Nederland Community Center, Nederland residents asked the Board of Trustees to slow down on plans for upcoming projects and get them properly vetted. The board also discussed a new parks grant proposal and appointed members to the Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) and Planning Commission.

During public comments, Nederland resident Tom Lewis said he comes here with a heavy heart, because he is an optimistic person, but the board has lost trust with the public and continues to lose more. He cited lack of transparency, paper trails and information and asked how he can find SAB minutes so he doesn’t have to look for legal means to get information.

“You guys have to sharpen your pencils,” Lewis said. “All I’ve heard is let’s put checks in the lost column.” Lewis recommended creating a citizen board committee of people across all fronts to decide what the rules should be for something to be publicly vetted. If you’re on a mountain road, the first course of action is to slow it down.

Resident May Jarril agreed with Lewis and referred to a meeting two years ago, when she discussed many problems. She believes we’re getting ahead of ourselves. “We never resolve the old business because goals are continuing to morph. I agree with those who say we need to slow down and pull back the reigns on the GOCO (Great Outdoors Colorado) grant.

Susan Wagner, who lives south of town, said the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Boulder County was discussed for a year and a half, but property owners weren’t consulted. The town needs a vigorous discussion on climate change and wildfire as well as to look at the big scope of things. 

The IGA calls for moving out into wild lands, but she cited town goals of doing infill within town for development. “We need to answer infrastructure improvements. The existing philosophy was to consolidate development. Envision 2020 includes protecting wildlife migration corridors south of Big Springs, where a wildfire egress has been approved. It’s a very narrow corridor. If you engage us, we can help you.” 

During discussion items, Trustee Jonathon Baumhover said that he and Jill Dreves, executive director of the Wild Bear Nature Center, approached the Nederland Parks and Recreation Open Space Board (PROSAB) about Wild Bear’s newly acquired parcel north of town. PROSAB would like to take a more macro approach to park planning. 

Her proposal entailed looking at the bigger picture needs of residents for parks development. Parks improvement would include not only the Gateway Park but also the newly acquired five acres on the corner of County Road 128 and Highway 72.

 The proposal will include components of the proposed infrastructure for the Gateway Park Area Development included in the GOCO grant, which was submitted in October 2018 and retracted in February 2019. The 2019 grant would be expanded to include proposed improvements for the newly acquired five-acre parcel to provide park options on the north end of town. 

 This proposal between the Town of Nederland and Wild Bear Nature Center expands the scope of the grant proposal from Gateway Park Development to overall Parks and Open Space resources. By doing so, the town would include Wild Bear’s property as a quasi-town park, facilitating the incorporation of this new town resource into the greater vision of the Town of Nederland’s Parks and Open Space. 

On June 20, PROSAB agreed that such a partnership would be desirable as it aligns with overarching community goals of connectivity and collaborative partnerships between town and various non-profit organizations. 

“In addition, it would make a stronger grant application for both parties, while providing ample time to get community input and vetting for larger proposed development ideas in the Gateway Park area to be proposed in the future,” states the memo.    

If the trustees approve, this partnership would expand the scope of the grant application to Town Parks and Open Space as a whole, shifting away from the singular development of the Gateway Park Area to a more macro framework of community resources. “The proposed grant would attempt to secure funds for the priority improvements to Gateway Park Area for this year,” states the memo. 

Priority improvements would include amending the soil, re-seeding and installing irrigation for the Guercio Memorial Ball Field and widening and resurfacing the existing trails around Barker Reservoir. Ideally, the grant would also include a partnership with TEENS, Inc. and work with the TEENS, Inc. Youth Corps for the trail work.

The remainder of available grant funds would be geared toward the development of the Wild Bear Nature Center with the goal of incorporating this area into the greater fold of Nederland Parks and Open Space resources available for the education, recreation and enjoyment of the greater Nederland community. 

Tentatively, the town’s portion of the GOCO grant would request about $135,000 of the $350,000 LPOR proposed GOCO funds. PROSAB would like to request $13,550 of the currently earmarked funds for Gateway Park development to be used as a cash match for town’s portion of the GOCO Grant geared toward the restoration of the Gateway Park Area, and all additional earmarked funds could be rolled over to the next budget year and remain available for additional development of that area once an agreed development strategy is hashed out through the Nederland Planning Process. 

The remaining cash match for the development of the Nature Center Area would be secured by Wild Bear Nature Center. Wild Bear, in partnership with PROSAB, would form a grant writing committee to include members from SAB, PROSAB, Wild Bear and possibly a trustee.

Baumhover said that as this idea was discussed, they had to ask if they have time to vet the park ideas before they submit a grant in October. “The reality of having a developed and vetted design for the park is a tall order.”

They can work on the park and the trails, and it can be used as a community park. It aligns with the goals of collaboration and provides time for PROSAB to reach out to the public and get a clear design. Dreves told the board that GOCO is very important for Wild Bear to go for at this point. “I feel this is an incredible opportunity for the community to come together and create two resources for the town.”

Mayor Kristopher Larsen said this is a great opportunity and makes great sense. Two months is not enough time to apply for the grant, and this is a great way to start that process. Dreves said they have staff time to write. The funds would come in in March.

Trustee Dallas Masters said he would like to work with Gerrity. This is a new idea and the only document we have is the 2013 master plan, and it is the only thing that has real community buy in. 

“I don’t have anything else. To then start talking about new ideas I think is premature,” Masters said. “You have to go through the planning process again if you don’t use the master plan. I strongly think if the 2013 plan isn’t sufficient, start the process over,” he said. 

Baumhover said they should get the field back to the condition it was supposed to be before Eldora rented it as a parking lot. The 2013 plan is still the guiding document and part of that is maintaining what we have. 

Masters said Wild Bear is not town land. That’s a different project. “I support Wild Bear,” Masters said, “but we have no control over Wild Bear. Larsen said it should be PROSAB moving forward with public hearings over the next two months. 

Trustee James Rawsthorne said, “I feel like we’re at the point we need experienced management. We need professional engineering. I feel like we need professional, experienced people. I have great reservations about this.”

Trustee Kristen Conrad said she is excited about the idea of starting to think about a bigger master plan for all of our parks instead of everything crammed into Barker Park. “We need a coordinator who has experience to look at things in a bigger way. I would like to take a step back and say we’re not ready and bring someone in to help us and plan them as a whole. We must not throw out the 2013 plan but use that as a base.” 

Larsen said that PROSAB should come up with a plan that involves dates for meetings and public input and how it works with the master plan with the potential of moving forward this year. They need to look at it this year and how it would play out in the next few years.

The board appointed three new members to SAB out of the five applicants: Reid Barcus, Alvin Mites, Marcelo Mainzen and Hunter Wright applied for appointment, and current Chair Melody Baumhover applied for reappointment. One seat opened with the resignation of Kevin Mueller. 

Two seats held by Melody Baumhover and Camille Thorson expired June 1, 2019. Applicants Melody Baumhover, Reid Barcus and Marcelo Mainzen are Nederland residents. Applicant Hunter Wright works at Eldora Ski Resort and lives in Boulder. Barcus stepped down and Baumhover recused himself. The board elected Mites, Wright and Baumhover for SAB, and will try to find appropriate spots for Mainzen and Barcus.

Current Planning Commissioners Linda Glasser and Stephanie Herring have terms expiring as of June 2019. Both have expressed interest in being reappointed and submitted their applications for consideration. Current Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) member Billy Giblin submitted his application to join the Planning Commission, but the board voted to re-appoint Glasser and Herring.

(Originally published in the July 25, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)