NEDERLAND - Nederland elections are just around the corner. Here are the questions we asked the candidates for Board of Trustees, and Mayor. We do not edit these answers, we print them as they come in.

Trustee Candidates

Andrew Joslin lives in Old Town, Nederland. You can reach him at Andrew.joslin@outlook.com

How long have you lived in Nederland? 12 years

Briefly describe your current career and home life? Fire Marshal for the Nederland Fire Protection District, live with wife (para-educator at NES) and two children, 10 and 7.

Briefly describe your educational and professional experience and explain how your skill set can best serve the Town of Nederland. I have a degree in Human Geography from University of North Carolina at Wilmington, extensive background in IT (worked at HP and as a contractor for years), as Fire Marshal I have acquired many certifications involving risk analysis, plan review, inspections, public education, investigations, code administration, which I will use to help decision making along with input from the public and the comprehensive plan.

In your words please explain why you wanted to run for this position. Public service is critically needed, especially in small communities such as ours. I love this town, my neighbors, the surrounding community, and will continue to help any way I can to see us thrive.

Of the major projects/issues currently facing the BOT (Bobcat Ridge annexation, downtown redevelopment, TEENS, Inc. child care proposal, suggestions for code change to come from the comprehensive plan update, suggestions for streets improvements to come from the multimodal transportation plan, the Chipeta Park pump track, tourism initiatives, water and sewer infrastructure, securing water rights, the keeping animals ordinance, the commitment to Proposition 123 and affordable housing development, an interconnected trails system, etc.) which would you make your top priorities?  Several of these have either been addressed or shelved for various reasons in recent years. Affordable housing stock, transportation and critical infrastructure, trail infrastructure, and embracing our local economic dynamics while prioritizing and complementing initiatives for our citizens are my main priorities at the time.

Who, if anyone, would you consider a mentor or figure who inspired you to run for this position? How did they inspire you?  My primary mentor and influence growing up was my grandfather, who my son is named after, a hardworking father and grandfather who served his country and his community, won awards for community service, and often told me, “If you’re going to do something, do it right.” Also, JFK, and his promotion of contributing to the greater good has inspired me throughout my life.

Have you ever, or are you currently, serving on any boards for any non-profit organizations? If not, what organizations, or causes, have you considered joining?  Prior to being hired as Fire Marshal, I volunteered 7 years for the Fire District as a fire firefighter and lieutenant. In college I was president of the Geography Club which helped local organizations in securing and recording historic values.

Of Nederland’s various boards and subcommittees (Board of Zoning Adjustment, Nederland Downtown Development Authority, Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Board, Planning Commission, Sustainability Advisory Board, Youth Advisory Board), which would you be most interested in serving as liaison for and why? (Mayoral candidates please answer hypothetically) My natural interest would be in PROSAB, however I have various interests in all the boards and would want to help make their work more effective and create standardized processes to better value the time and effort they commit.

Taking into consideration that the community is outspoken against tourism but the Town budget is seemingly reliant on tourism revenue, as Mayor/Trustee, how would you mitigate tourism-based initiatives as they come up on the agenda?  I am aware that there are voices in our community which are outspoken against tourism, however many of the local business owners, staff and local workers acknowledge the importance of our visitors to our economy. I will prioritize initiatives which primarily benefit our locals while embracing our visitors which the majority our businesses depend upon. Any initiatives for promoting tourism should address the impact and wellbeing of our locals.

The Town of Nederland, having committed to Proposition 123, is required to provide 13 affordable housing units in three years. What are your suggestions for how to achieve this goal? Do you believe that the Boulder County requirements for what constitutes affordable housing is acceptable for Nederland? I want affordable housing stocks to be primarily offered to our locals, not building units just to fill them with people from out of town who have no interest in living or working in our community. Our local workforce and families need affordable housing yesterday.

How do you describe responsible growth for Nederland?  Responsible growth requires proper planning, doing things right the first time, investing in infrastructure, smart spending, streamlining processes to reduce costs for simple housing projects, identifying future revenue streams which do not depend entirely on locals, ensuring our visitors are paying their fair share for utilizing our services and natural resources, and preserving our environment which makes our Town so special.

How would you encourage community engagement with local politics so as to support more robust elections and interest in public service? I can appreciate the recent initiatives to better compensate trustees, a lot of people can’t devote the amount of time to perform the job adequately, however we can’t exactly afford to do so with our current budget. We should foster an environment in which we understand our local public figures are trying their best with the provided information – no one is perfect, and I will undoubtedly make mistakes in this role, but I want to promote an open feedback loop, correct mistakes where made, and establish trust and respect within the community. We need more people to step into this role, yet it can be quite intimidating. 

Following recent complications with property owners and state authorities which caused delays in addressing public health and safety concerns, and general community wellness, what would you suggest for how local authorities can hold property owners to action regarding their empty or non-compliant properties.  Our Town had a plan A, B, C, D, etc for the recent events at 20 Lakeview, and my understanding is state authorities continue to delay progress. Ironically, agencies which are meant to protect our environment have needlessly delayed attempts to clean up the site and protect our town. I would encourage our Town to act in confidence and swiftly call for emergency powers to address situations such as this from the get-go. The legal implications are great, so I can appreciate the due diligence used, yet in the future I would encourage a more proactive approach.

Alison Vagnini

Matthew Kennedy lives in Sunnyside, Nederland.

How long have you lived in Nederland?  Almost 10 years. 

Briefly describe your current career and home life? I’m currently a stay-at-home Dad, raising a 6-year-old wildman, while supporting my wife. She is an incredibly talented photographer.

 Briefly describe your educational and professional experience and explain how your skill set can best serve the Town of Nederland. From a young age I was obsessed with exploring the world. This interest, along with a lifelong skiing and climbing passion, led me to CU Boulder. I left CU with an undergrad degree in Documentary Filmmaking and a job at a local adventure filmmaking company where I was lucky enough to work on some wild projects mostly in the vertical climbing world. From there, I worked for a Boulder-based National Geographic photographer named James Balog and helped support his project called, the Extreme Ice Survey. I spent around a decade helping Balog document the effects of climate change on some of the world’s retreating glaciers through photography, filmmaking, multimedia, and most effectively, long-term timelapse photography. This work came with the fortune of traveling to some pretty wild places where I saw the effects of climate change first hand. With Balog, I also spent time documenting wildfires, which happened to overlap with my first days living in Nederland. Those first days were right before the start of the Cold Springs fire.

Much of my previous work can be distilled down to communicating complicated ideas based on experiences collected in oftentime adverse and challenging conditions, as well as, always thinking way outside the box. I find this quite analogous to the ways I could serve our Town.  

In your words please explain why you wanted to run for this position. The main reason I was attracted to running for the BOT was the opportunity to be involved with the Town’s acquisition of Eldora. If successful, I think this could be a large leap forward for our community. Why not try to help shape that path? Beyond this, I’m invested in the success of our town in that I have a family here and wish to stick around for a while.    

Of the major projects/issues currently facing the BOT (Bobcat Ridge annexation, downtown redevelopment, TEENS, Inc. child care proposal, suggestions for code change to come from the comprehensive plan update, suggestions for streets improvements to come from the multimodal transportation plan, the Chipeta Park pump track, tourism initiatives, water and sewer infrastructure, securing water rights, the keeping animals ordinance, the commitment to Proposition 123 and affordable housing development, an interconnected trails system, etc.) which would you make your top priorities? I’m most interested in the TEENS Inc child care proposal, affordable housing, and not listed, but our town’s relationship with fire. I believe these all have a direct impact on folks continuing to live in and enjoy our wild little town. I also have a big interest in a usable interconnected trail system. Us locals are complicit in the weekend traffic issues too.

Who, if anyone, would you consider a mentor or figure who inspired you to run for this position? How did they inspire you?  Maybe it’s the easy answer, or maybe it’s the right one: my kiddo.

 Have you ever, or are you currently, serving on any boards for any non-profit organizations? If not, what organizations, or causes, have you considered joining?  I’m currently part of a family foundation that offers small grants to non-profits committed to enhancing the lives of those living and working in the respective family’s communities. Locally, I love the work TEENS Inc is doing. Our little guy was fortunate enough to go through the New Explorers Learning Center. I’m also quite passionate about backcountry skiing and avalanche education. I support and volunteer with statewide/national avalanche organizations in various ways.

Of Nederland’s various boards and subcommittees (Board of Zoning Adjustment, Nederland Downtown Development Authority, Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Board, Planning Commission, Sustainability Advisory Board, Youth Advisory Board), which would you be most interested in serving as liaison for and why? (Mayoral candidates please answer hypothetically) I’d be interested in a handful of these, however, the Youth Advisory Board stands out. Whether our town’s youth sticks around or not after they graduate, they are a part of our community and with any luck they will come back one day and reap the benefits of ideas and work done today. Maybe they’ll even dig their roots deeper. I think that’s a pretty cool thing.

Taking into consideration that the community is outspoken against tourism but the Town budget is seemingly reliant on tourism revenue, as Mayor/Trustee, how would you mitigate tourism-based initiatives as they come up on the agenda? I’ll go on record and say I’m not fully against tourism. Like it or not, that’s the path our town took after mining, after music, etc. That said, I firmly believe that tourism in our community needs to be properly managed and for every unfortunate traffic jam or unnecessarily overcrowded trailhead we should find a way for that to benefit our Town. Better yet, let’s find a way to ease the traffic, spread out the land use, and still fill the Town coffers.

The Town of Nederland, having committed to Proposition 123, is required to provide 13 affordable housing units in three years. What are your suggestions for how to achieve this goal? Do you believe that the Boulder County requirements for what constitutes affordable housing is acceptable for Nederland? It seems our best way to achieve this is by utilizing public and/or private land or properties that are currently sitting idle or not serving our town, and encouraging the development of affordable housing units.

 How do you describe responsible growth for Nederland? Like many small towns, our Town has too many objective hurdles for unbridled growth. Responsible growth is surgical; it’s slow and thoughtful, but sometimes you just have to make the move.

How would you encourage community engagement with local politics so as to support more robust elections and interest in public service? I can’t say I have any specific ideas, but communication and access to information seems like a good start. I don’t think you should have to have a Facebook account to find out when meetings or events are happening. 

 Following recent complications with property owners and state authorities which caused delays in addressing public health and safety concerns, and general community wellness, what would you suggest for how local authorities can hold property owners to action regarding their empty or non-compliant properties.  I don’t have expertise here, but from a locals perspective I think we need to find ways to hold property owners accountable for non-compliant properties. Maybe there is a way to disincentivize owners that keep properties empty.

Mayoral Candidates

Billy Giblin lives in Old Town, Nederland. He can be reached by email at billy4ned@gmail.com.

How long have you lived in Nederland?  Almost 10 years

Briefly describe your current career and home life? My wife and I are raising our middle school-aged son and elementary-aged daughter in a small home in Old Town Ned. Like many of you, I have a laundry list of home improvement projects, large and small, regularly interrupted by a perpetual stream of cooking, dishes, laundry, chopping wood, kids’ sports practices and games, kids’ homework, skiing, road trips, river trips, kids’ play dates, NMSHS and NES school events, etc. We are also lucky to spend time with our kids, and to spend time with our friends and family (my brother and his son live next door to us).

In my day job, I work full-time in the energy efficiency, water efficiency and high-performance building industry in residential construction with RESNET®, the Residential Energy Services Network. RESNET created and implements the HERS® Index (Home Energy Rating System Index). I travel several times a year for work. I also coach the Nederland Middle School Nordic Ski Team since 2019. And I am the Mayor of Nederland.  

Briefly describe your educational and professional experience and explain how your skill set can best serve the Town of Nederland. I went to Catholic schools from K-12. I have gone to different state schools over the years, earning an AAS in Forest Technology in 1984, a BS in Psychology in 2002, and an AAS in Energy Management in 2010.

I moved to Colorado in 1985, ski bumming in the winters and doing forestry work, and some commercial fishing, in the summers. In 1993, I began a career which spanned wilderness therapy, outdoor education, recreation therapy, ski instructing, Outward Bound and commercial river guiding. As my girlfriend (now wife) and I planned to get married and have children, in 2009 I changed my career so I could better support a family and be home instead of away from home, guiding. Since 2009, I have worked in the high-performance home building and energy efficiency industry, a career that I love and intend to stay in for the rest of my working days!

My work and life experience has taught me love and appreciation of the outdoors and the mountains, strong interpersonal skills, listening skills, analytical skills, and an ability to stay calm and handle many demands and tasks at once. These skills help me and our community in my role as Mayor of Nederland.

In your words, please explain why you wanted to run for this position. My work is not done yet. We need as much experience and stability as possible in Town government right now as we transition with the Eldora acquisition. I ran for Mayor in 2022, ran for re-election in 2024, and am running again for re-election as Mayor in 2026 because Nederland continues to be at a very critical time. There are many large forces and changes occurring and we must choose to respect, maintain and preserve what we value about this community. I believe that I am personable and approachable, and that I have the temperament, patience, listening skills and thick skin to lead our community at a time when all the voices in our community need to be expressed, heard, and valued. My Mom was a nurse and taught us a lot about service. I am honored and really enjoy being able to serve the people of Nederland, and I intend to continue to do so.

Of the major projects/issues currently facing the BOT (Bobcat Ridge annexation, downtown redevelopment, TEENS, Inc. child care proposal, suggestions for code change to come from the comprehensive plan update, suggestions for streets improvements to come from the multimodal transportation plan, the Chipeta Park pump track, tourism initiatives, water and sewer infrastructure, securing water rights, the keeping animals ordinance, the commitment to Proposition 123 and affordable housing development, an interconnected trails system, etc.) which would you make your top priorities? Continuing to secure our water rights! Without water, most everything else is moot!

Removal of the Caribou Village Shopping Center debris and reconstruction of the new building(s).

Big Springs Egress design and construction.

Seeing through the Eldora acquisition and the transition of ownership as smoothly as possible, 

Affordable housing development: We are working for more attainable and healthy housing for more of our seniors, workforce and low-income residents.

Infrastructure: Water and Sewer, Summer Road Improvement Plan, Teens Inc New Explorers Childcare Center.

Adoption of the First Street Overlay District for Downtown, which has incorporated the voices and opinions of many of our community members and will allow us to make the Building Design Standards and beneficial code updates clear to developers.

Who, if anyone, would you consider a mentor or figure who inspired you to run for this position? How did they inspire you? I was inspired by Julian Taylor’s Speech at the Candidate Forum in March 2022. I was also motivated by the selection of candidates who stepped forward to run for Mayor and Trustees in the 2022 and 2024 Elections. As a legislator, I was inspired and learned a lot from working with all the Trustees, and learned a lot working with Eric Coombs-Esmail from 2022 to 2024 on the BOT. I am always inspired and motivated by my family and my friends in this unique and special community where we feel so lucky to live and raise our kids.

Have you ever, or are you currently, serving on any boards for any non-profit organizations? If not, what organizations, or causes, have you considered joining? 

Aspen Grove Community Preschool Board of Directors 2018-2019

Nederland Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) 2018-2022

Nederland Planning Commission 2020-2022

Of Nederland’s various boards and subcommittees (Board of Zoning Adjustment, Nederland Downtown Development Authority, Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Board, Planning Commission, Sustainability Advisory Board, Youth Advisory Board), which would you be most interested in serving as liaison for and why? (Mayoral candidates please answer hypothetically) Hypothetically, the Planning Commission because they are directly involved in understanding and advising the BOT on Nederland Municipal Code. 

Taking into consideration that the community is outspoken against tourism but the Town budget is seemingly reliant on tourism revenue, as Mayor/Trustee, how would you mitigate tourism-based initiatives as they come up on the agenda?  My experience is that many people in our community are against tourism, and at the same time many people in our community are for tourism. It is already a significant part of our economy. There is an appetite to better capture more revenue from the many tourists that already travel through Nederland throughout many times of the year. An increase in sales tax revenue from that tourism will allow us to better provide some of the services that many of our residents want. As the crossroads of the Peak to Peak region, Nederland could gain more benefit from folks visiting the National Forest, Eldora, Wild Bear, etc.

The Town of Nederland, having committed to Proposition 123, is required to provide 13 affordable housing units in three years. What are your suggestions for how to achieve this goal? Do you believe that the Boulder County requirements for what constitutes affordable housing is acceptable for Nederland? There are numerous Town properties on which affordable housing can be built. We are challenged by the fact that the average incomes in Boulder County are greater than the average incomes in our community. That said, we are again working with the Boulder County Housing Authority on another potential project here in Nederland.

We continue to explore options to create a regional housing authority with Gilpin County, Nederland, Lyons and unincorporated western Boulder County. This would allow us to better define our requirements for what constitutes affordable housing in our community.

We have made changes to our code to allow ADUs and Tiny Homes in more Zoning Districts. We will be discussing whether we can reduce PIFs (Plant Investment Fees) for smaller homes built to be dedicated as affordable housing.

We may need to enter public/private partnerships with the Town and private developers to build these homes. 

How do you describe responsible growth for Nederland? This is one of my greatest motivations for joining and continuing in Town government. Responsible growth needs to be thoughtful, deliberate, measured and patient. Keeping the horse in front of the cart! Many forces inside and outside of Nederland would apply both feet to the accelerator on growth and development. For responsible growth and development, I believe that we need to be more focused on carefully steering and applying brakes as needed. And I believe that responsible growth can only happen by listening to the many voices of the people who live in our community.

Many people speak of diversity here in Nederland. Though we lack cultural and ethnic diversity, we are rich in the diversity of values, lifestyles and socioeconomic status. That is the diversity that we need to celebrate and preserve.

Nederland needs to be a community in which folks of wealth, middle income and low income can live and thrive and prosper. Prosperity means that we create options so people can still afford to live here, thrive here, and have a good standard of living here. And yet to prosper, I do not mean that everyone must be wealthy or middle class. Some folks value wealth and work to earn it; and some folks are not driven to be wealthy and will not strive for that. And some of us want to age in place beyond our ‘working years’. Wealthy folks and some middle-income folks will have the financial means to continue to thrive and prosper. These community members bring essential resources and skills to make things happen in a society where money is needed to grow responsibly. All of these community members contribute essential resources and skills to make Nederland a special place. 

Our community includes teachers, childcare providers, town staff, firefighters, law enforcement officers, social workers, healthcare workers, retirees, food and beverage workers, grocery store workers, retail employees, construction trades, musicians, artists, scientists, miners, ski area employees, foresters, outdoor educators, etc., etc., etc. And our community includes many folks that value a simpler life and are not driven to be wealthy. And our seasonal homeless and homeless workforce, who are part of our community. Responsible growth will need to create more affordable housing to provide more options for roofs over everyone’s heads. 

We need to value all people across a full range of socioeconomic backgrounds for this town to truly be the community of diversity that we hear folks describe.

I am against the gentrification of Nederland, which would push too many people out of our community. Since moving to the intermountain west in 1985, I have seen way too many mountain towns develop in ways that have forced people out. Since 2018, I am in Town government to work to keep Nederland a place where we will maintain what’s great about our community. And I will continue to work to ensure that this is a place where anyone who lives in and around Nederland can continue to live and thrive in our community, if this is where they choose to be.

How would you encourage community engagement with local politics so as to support more robust elections and interest in public service? National, international and some regional politics are very divided these days. I believe that the most important thing we can do is act locally. One way to do that is to be involved in local politics. There are several options: the BOT, Planning Commission, BZA and numerous Advisory Boards.

I acknowledge that joining town government can be intimidating. And there is some frustration and a sense of a lack of transparency now as we have moved through the Eldora acquisition process with disciplined communication. 

And we need more folks to be involved. I will say that it is rewarding (and even fun) in many ways to serve the people and the community of Nederland. I love that I have been able to get to know so many people in our community.

Following recent complications with property owners and state authorities which caused delays in addressing public health and safety concerns, and general community wellness, what would you suggest for how local authorities can hold property owners to action regarding their empty or non-compliant properties. We need to be current with our municipal codes and ensure all new construction and significant building renovations bring buildings up to current safety codes. The First Street Overlay District will help to clarify the parameters within which buildings will be built in the Downtown District.

Now may be the time to have a community conversation about whether the Town should fine property owners who leave commercial properties vacant or in major disrepair.

This question is a bit loaded with the present situation at Caribou Village. There is a lot of shared responsibility in the delays in the demolition and removal, and a lot of details that are not clear to us as the public. We are working with Tebo to ensure the new building(s) will be built to current codes as soon as possible for the benefit of our community. 

Nichole Sterling lives in Big Springs, Nederland. Nichole can be reached by email at nchlsterling@gmail.com or checkout her website at https://nichole4nederland.net/ 

How long have you lived in Nederland? 7 years

Briefly describe your current career and home life? I am the CEO of a tech company that helps local governments better access their data and reduce their consultant spend. I live with my son, Leo, and husband, Joseph, while our other two sons, Brodie and Aidyn are out adulting in the world. 

Briefly describe your educational and professional experience and explain how your skill set can best serve the Town of Nederland.  I’ve worked across multiple industries and roles throughout my career, building the skills needed to lead a town like Nederland. My background spans the nonprofit sector, healthcare, and now technology. Along the way, I’ve led organizations in HR, operations, and finance, and today I serve as a CEO and small business owner.

These experiences have required navigating complex challenges, setting a clear vision, motivating people, and executing plans that deliver real milestones. In my current role on the Board of Trustees, I have been involved during a period when the Board approved the acquisition of Eldora and the issuance of municipal revenue bonds, and the Town is preparing the related bond documents. My previous experience in financial oversight, risk assessment, and responsible governance informs my decision-making process. The Eldora effort was not the first $100M+ acquisition I’ve worked on, which gave me the experience and perspective needed to help guide Nederland through a moment like this, with an emphasis on process, careful review of available information, and adherence to established legal and fiduciary responsibilities as the approved transaction and related financing move toward closing.

In your words please explain why you wanted to run for this position. After April 30th, the anticipated closing date of the acquisition, Nederland will  enter a materially different operational phase. The complexity of what we will have in front of us will increase significantly. As the person who helped lead the Eldora effort and someone who has worked on acquisitions of this size before, I understand the scope of the transition the Town is undertaking and the level of governance, oversight, and coordination it will require.

We will need to rethink many of our systems and how the town operates. At key inflection points, organizations need new structures, new processes, and clear priorities. I’ve built and rebuilt systems like this before, and I have experience contributing to the development of structured, accountable approaches that support effective implementation. That’s the work that excites me - seeing new opportunities, then putting the frameworks in place to make them succeed!

You’ve already seen this in the work I’ve driven: getting major deliverables across the finish line, including the 2023 housing study, the town’s strategic goals, and the public processes and Board action for the Eldora initiative.

At moments like this, you want the person who has already been doing the hard work to keep doing the hard work.

Of the major projects/issues currently facing the BOT (Bobcat Ridge annexation, downtown redevelopment, TEENS, Inc. child care proposal, suggestions for code change to come from the comprehensive plan update, suggestions for streets improvements to come from the multimodal transportation plan, the Chipeta Park pump track, tourism initiatives, water and sewer infrastructure, securing water rights, the keeping animals ordinance, the commitment to Proposition 123 and affordable housing development, an interconnected trails system, etc.) which would you make your top priorities?  Beyond supporting careful planning and oversight for the Board-approved Eldora transaction, as the acquisition moves toward closing my next priorities are public safety, infrastructure, affordable housing and childcare, rethinking how our community communicates and governs itself, and positioning Nederland as a “town within a park” by expanding our recreation opportunities.

If you’d like to learn more about these priorities and the ideas behind them, you can visit my website: nichole4nederland.net 

Who, if anyone, would you consider a mentor or figure who inspired you to run for this position? How did they inspire you?  Honestly, my kids - and the youth in our community - are one source of inspiration for running for Mayor. When I was first considering it, I had to really step back and ask myself why I wanted to do this. 

Besides genuinely knowing I have the skillsets to guide us, the answer was simple: I want to help create a place where, if my kids or the young people growing up in our community want to stay and build a life here, they can. A place where they can find jobs, have places to recreate, access education, gather for dinner with friends and family, and eventually raise their own kids here too.

Have you ever, or are you currently, serving on any boards for any non-profit organizations? If not, what organizations, or causes, have you considered joining?  A few years ago, I started a company called Women Defining AI. It began as an education initiative to help women and non-binary individuals learn artificial intelligence’s impact on productivity, bias, ethics, the environment, and mental load. After growing the community to nearly 2,000 people, we transitioned it into a nonprofit so we could scale its impact. I now serve on the board.

I also co-chair the Use Cases Committee for the GovAI Coalition, which is currently pursuing 501(c)(3) status. The coalition was launched out of the City of San Jose, California, with the goal of helping local governments procure safe, ethical, and responsible AI systems. Through that work, I help governments across the United States understand AI - its risks, biases, and ethical considerations - and identify the right use cases if they choose to adopt it.

Also, my previous non-profit board experience has been when I’ve been called in to help non-profit boards operate better. Whether that was to help them work through complex initiatives or work through conflict. 

Of Nederland’s various boards and subcommittees (Board of Zoning Adjustment, Nederland Downtown Development Authority, Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Board, Planning Commission, Sustainability Advisory Board, Youth Advisory Board), which would you be most interested in serving as liaison for and why? (Mayoral candidates please answer hypothetically) None of the above. In fact, part of my vision is to rethink our current governance structure and create new boards that are better equipped to handle the complexity of the moment we’re in.

One example is a Resiliency Board. This board would assess and advise the Board of Trustees on the social, economic, environmental, physical (infrastructure), and institutional resilience of our community. By bringing these perspectives together in one place and prioritizing projects across them, we can take a more systemic approach to helping Nederland thrive.

Taking into consideration that the community is outspoken against tourism but the Town budget is seemingly reliant on tourism revenue, as Mayor/Trustee, how would you mitigate tourism-based initiatives as they come up on the agenda?  It’s not about saying “no” to tourism. It’s about making sure tourism fits the identity of Nederland. As a small business owner myself, I’m very aware that our community businesses rely on additional customers, outside of our local population, to help feed their families.

Events like bike and foot races have been embraced by the community because they align with what most people want to see here: recreational tourism. The same is true for events that reflect our culture and identity, such as music festivals.

So the goal is to be thoughtful and deliberate about the kinds of tourism we support, making sure they strengthen Nederland rather than change what makes it special.

The Town of Nederland, having committed to Proposition 123, is required to provide 13 affordable housing units in three years. What are your suggestions for how to achieve this goal? Do you believe that the Boulder County requirements for what constitutes affordable housing is acceptable for Nederland? There are three deliberate approaches I want to activate to spur affordable housing in Nederland.

Our 2023 Housing Study showed that Nederland needs at least 65 affordable rental units and at least 50 affordable for-sale units, for a combined minimum of 115 units. The study also identified an upper-end need of about 260 total units across both categories.

We are nowhere near those numbers. Prop 123 was intended to help get us started, and I place more weight on the findings of our Housing Study than the recommendations from Boulder County. Based on that work, I see a three-pronged path to meaningfully increase affordable housing in Nederland.

1. Incentivize Developers

A few years ago, we began important work to incentivize developers to build affordable housing by allowing yard, bulk, and area variances. That was a good start, but we can go further.

Recently we began exploring policy that offers incentives when 50 percent of a development is affordable housing instead of requiring 100 percent affordability. This approach gives developers more flexibility in what they can build while still meaningfully increasing the number of affordable units.

2. Incentivize Homeowners

Because I work with communities across the country, I get a front row seat to innovative housing ideas. One approach I find especially promising is incentivizing homeowners to build backyard cottages to support gentle infill housing.

Today, one of the biggest barriers is financing. If a homeowner wants to build a backyard cottage, they often need to take out a HELOC, and many of the fees are due before construction even begins, such as our expensive PIF fees.

Allowing homeowners to subdivide their lot by right and adjusting and then paying these fees AFTER construction, could change that dynamic.

First, subdivision could reduce property tax pressure by allowing property owners to split their land, making mountain living more financially sustainable for some residents.

Second, once a new lot is created, it can either be sold, which provides financial security for the original homeowner, or it can be financed through traditional home lending rather than relying on a HELOC. Both options lower the barrier to creating new housing.

Then, by allowing PIF fees to be collected after the construction of the new cottage - homeowners can improve cash flow, reduce up-front construction costs, and start collecting rental income and use that income to then pay down the fees.

3. Assess Affordable Housing Feasibility and Permitting

The Board of Trustees recently approved moving forward with a Colorado Energy Office grant that will bring additional staff support to help promote backyard cottages in Nederland. One tactic includes offering ready-to-go, pre-designed backyard cottage plans that have already gone through the public process.

I want to expand that idea.

That same pre-approved design process could apply to duplexes, triplexes, and small cottage clusters, also known as tiny home villages. One reason affordable housing proposals face pushback is the fear that they will result in large, unattractive apartment buildings. Showing residents examples of beautiful duplexes or triplexes or other multi-unit structures that look like traditional homes could help communities feel more comfortable approving them.

At the same time, we should take a serious look at our permitting process. We can reduce the burden on staff while also making approvals faster and more predictable for applicants. New technologies are emerging that can support this shift, and I want Nederland to lead the region in making both project feasibility and permitting feel like a first-class experience.

How do you describe responsible growth for Nederland?  Responsible growth, to me, means prioritizing infill strategies, understanding the findings of our housing study and the needs of our future workforce, and making sure that alongside affordable housing we also have the childcare and economic opportunities that support that workforce.

Growth does not have to mean outward expansion. For me, it is more important to focus on modernizing our infrastructure, strengthening our economic stability, and increasing our community’s resilience for the future.

How would you encourage community engagement with local politics so as to support more robust elections and interest in public service? I want to completely rethink how this system works. Right now, we expect residents to come to Board of Trustees meetings and somehow keep up with complex policy decisions. At the same time, our staff do not always have the tools or capacity to create meaningful engagement.

This is where I draw on my experience running nonprofits that were entirely volunteer-led. In many ways, that is what local government is. We are a volunteer organization trying to govern a community. The question becomes: how do you make that work when people’s time is limited?

1. Rethink the Board of Trustees structure

Right now, Trustees are required to serve as liaisons to advisory boards, which can take another two to three hours per month, sometimes more, on top of their existing responsibilities.

When I think about the best use of a Trustee’s time, I am not convinced this is it. A more productive approach would be to have Trustees oversee key initiatives or projects. Community engagement could be one example. Instead of simply attending meetings, Trustees would be accountable for moving real work forward.

I want a different model of accountability for Trustees. I want meaningful accountability tied to outcomes and as Mayor, I would help tap into each Trustee’s strengths and what motivates them to surface the initiative that aligns with our goals and enables them to best serve their community. 

2. Rethink our Advisory Board structure

I am also not convinced we currently have the right advisory boards for Nederland’s next chapter. As I mentioned earlier, one idea is to introduce a Resiliency Board, but others in the community have also asked whether some existing boards should be reconsidered. The Planning Commission is different because it has statutory responsibilities, but the rest deserve a thoughtful review.

When residents volunteer their time, it should be meaningful and it should help guide Nederland in the right direction. Motions for the sake of motions do not move a community forward. We should ask whether the time people spend on advisory boards is truly producing the outcomes they want and we need.

3. Build a more effective volunteer structure

At the same time, if we rethink advisory boards, we also need a better system for getting community input and expertise.

One idea is to create short-term, project-based volunteer groups with clear timelines and goals. Residents could sign up for a specific initiative, contribute their expertise, and then the group would sunset after delivering recommendations to the Board of Trustees.

For example, evaluating our permitting process could be one of these initiatives. A small group of residents could walk step by step through the process, identify where it works and where it does not, and recommend improvements.

Well-scoped initiatives with a clear beginning and end make it easier for people to contribute. Instead of asking residents to commit to multi-year board terms, we create flexible opportunities for meaningful participation.

4. Re-envision What “Updates” Look Like

We should modernize how we communicate with residents and work to invest in the technology to do so. By using tools like text alerts, AI summaries of meetings, and simple digital updates, we can give people quick and clear information about what the Town is working on without requiring them to sit through hours of meetings. The goal is simple: make it easy for residents to stay informed and engaged.

Following recent complications with property owners and state authorities which caused delays in addressing public health and safety concerns, and general community wellness, what would you suggest for how local authorities can hold property owners to action regarding their empty or non-compliant properties.  We cannot tax vacant or empty properties. That is a statutory limitation for towns like Nederland. One potential path to gaining more flexibility would be to transition from a statutory town to a home rule municipality. This is something the Board of Trustees will be discussing during our upcoming strategic planning.

What we can do today is issue fines through our code for properties that are not in compliance. However, that approach can be complicated. If the delay is being caused by a state agency rather than the property owner, it is not necessarily fair to penalize the owner. Most of us would not want to be fined if the holdup was outside our control.

With the Caribou Shopping Center, town staff made sure our part of the process was ready to go, which meant ensuring the permitting process was in place.

If progress still was not happening, I would have been willing to consider stronger options. That could include pursuing legal action against the property owner, the state agency, or both. 

Any decision like that would need to be carefully evaluated with health and safety as the top priority. But if those concerns were not present, I would not rule out stronger options to move the project forward.