On Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 7 p.m. the Town of Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) deliberated during a three-hour meeting, hearing funding requests for several town projects and a homeowner proposal regarding town land. Board members also held a lengthy discussion about mayoral and trustee term limits and whether or not the topic should be brought to the public on the upcoming election ballot.

The meeting began with the BOT approving the Consent Agenda and hearing public comments on Non- Agenda Items.

Laurence Tasaday, a forty-year Eldora resident, submitted to the Board his application for the opening on the Sustainability Advisory Board. Tasaday is a retired environmental technical writer who has served on many boards, worked at Eldora, and volunteered at the Nederland Food Pantry for the last four years.

The Board then heard funding requests from the Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA) for four impactful town projects. NDDA Executive Director Kate Masingale began by presenting resolution 2022-15 to the Board: a request for the additional $93,537 needed to move forward with the town’s Big Springs Parking Project. This project involves heavy but necessary construction to improve drainage and add sidewalks and more parking to the town of Nederland.

JVA Consulting Engineers representative Nathan Skalak answered the Board’s questions concerning the project and the contractor with the chosen bid, Edge Contracting Inc. Skalak explained that his qualifying review of Edge received positive results in regard to their conduct and capability to perform the task.

The BOT understood that the project’s budget has increased due to rising material costs and heavy demand throughout Colorado, though they still inquired about any cost saving options. There is an option on the table for Public Works to handle the asphalt paving for the project, which would save a projected $11,000.

The Board moved to approve the resolution, stating that the project will only come with a higher price tag in the future if they denied the supplemental funding.

Masingale continued with a resolution for the BOT to authorize the funds for the approved budget of $25,000 for town beautification. This year the Beautification Committee aims to utilize the full amount of their budget by employing the design and maintenance expertise of a trained horticulturist, Andrea Duran of Duran Hobby Acres. The project has procured the use of a water truck for continual maintenance of the flowers and will also require the hiring of a full-time professional gardener.

The next resolution presented to the Board concerned funding for the NDDA Public Art project to paint two new murals in town and restore artwork on the covered bridge. The two murals will be painted on the Upper Tebo Wall of the Caribou Village Shopping Center and the Poe Wall, located below the boardwalk between The Deli and Busey Brews. The total amount requested for the projects is $14,110.

The authorization of funds for the NDDA Traffic and Safety Support Grant Program was also requested from the BOT. The majority of the program’s $20,000 budget will go to assist the clean and safe operation of festivals held in town, like the upcoming Frozen Dead Guy Days. Board members expressed their approval and desire to seek further programs to help and promote local festivals.

The BOT unanimously moved to approve all resolutions presented by the NDDA before also hearing and approving resolutions from Town Treasurer Rita Six. Six provided drafts for the 2021 and 2022 Supplemental Budgets, submitted for Board review and public inspection. Revisions were also drafted to show the legal appropriation to the General Fund of the town’s collected Lodging Occupation Tax, and transferred from there to the Health and Human Services fund and to law enforcement as an expenditure.

Town Administrator Miranda Fisher presented to the Board a resolution to include a question on the ballot for the upcoming election on April 5 regarding term limits. There has been some confusion between the BOT and the public concerning differing language from the state of Colorado and the Town of Nederland in regard to mayoral and trustee term limits.

The recommended solution, offered by Board Members Alan Apt and Eric Coombs Esmail, is to institute a “hard cap” term limit of no more than eight consecutive years served, followed by a four year hiatus before any individual is allowed to run for election again.

Board Members were in agreement that the eight year ceiling was the most elegant solution to the complication. However, in the interest of total transparency with the public on this issue, the BOT unanimously agreed to discuss the ballot language at a later date and to hold over the ballot question regarding term limits for the next Board, which will be elected and sworn in this spring.

Homeowners Cynthia Paulson and Aaron and Mari Tye presented to the BOT their applications for the vacation of the right of way off South Johnson Street, between West Spring and West Breed Streets. This proposition is for the town to vacate the roadway and abutting property to the homeowners, terminating public ownership and the right to use it.

Paulson appeals that she and her family have primarily maintained the 12,000 square foot parcel for years due to inaction from town services. The homeowners wish to continue maintaining the property as a public green space and cut-through and are seemingly opposed to any future property developments on the site.

Board Members referred to their Disposal of Public Land policy, adopted in 2006, to best determine their decision on this matter. Their main concern was that the homeowners’ proposal didn’t meet the policy’s fourth statute: “public lands should not be disposed of solely for the benefit of a private individual or entity.” Without a guarantee that the land would remain publicly accessible if the property were to change ownership, the BOT agreed to deny the homeowners’ applications.

The BOT moved to approve the extension of the Comprehensive Development Plan Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). This agreement between the town of Nederland and Boulder County enables municipalities to plan for and regulate land uses in an effort to minimize negative impact and to protect their surrounding environment. The current IGA is set to expire on March 7, 2022, but Board members agreed to extend the IGA through December 31, 2022.

Last, the Board approved Town applying for the Tourism Management Grant, a $20,000 grant that would go directly to the town’s Wayfinding project. The Wayfinding project is a town-wide signage program aimed to encourage tourism and strengthen community accessibility.

The Nederland Board of Trustees meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month. Their next scheduled meeting is for Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at 7 p.m. For more information go to: https://townofnederland. colorado.gov/board-of-trustees