Jennifer Livingston, Nederland. Last week The Mountain-Ear reported on the 2020 Mayoral candidates and now presents the Trustee candidates in the order in which they will appear on the ballot. Each candidate was provided a written questionnaire and an invitation to interview. The Mountain-Ear appreciates that each candidate took the time to sit down and discuss their candidacy. 

Tania Corvalan  has lived in Nederland since 1996. She lives with her husband and 11-year-old son. She is a well-known local potter, has been on the Farmer’s Market Board for one year and has been an active volunteer at Nederland Elementary School. 

She would like to work with Parks, Recreation and Open Space Advisory Board (PROSAB) and the community to create a unifying plan and project to improve the waterfront, including an “amphitheater, greenhouse, pump track, ball field and dog park.” She would also like to work with the “Sustainability [Advisory] Board (SAB) to find solutions to improve efficiency and waste management as well as encourage and educate people about noxious weeds and maintaining a defensible space around their property.” She believes art can “inspire and elevate the mind and spirit” and would like to work with the Nederland Downtown Development Authority (DDA) to sponsor public art in all modalities.

“Our roads need to be maintained and our emergency services supported. I want to keep addressing this issue of a second bridge. Town cannot have unchecked growth without putting forward a plan to support our services including the non-profits, schools and fire and police departments.” 

She is committed to sustainability and would like to see “developers embrace energy efficiency in materials and design,” including maximizing passive solar solutions, possibly by incentivizing such designs. Corvalan would like to see restaurants and residents composting. She also believes businesses should move away from single-use plastic and polystyrene products. 

She’d like to keep Nederland family-friendly, recognizing that “the more people who stay and identify with Nederland as their hometown, the more they will become engaged with the activities, non-profits, schools and events that make this town special.” She’d like to create an atmosphere that is “welcoming with sports, art and music activities for people of all ages available and supported. Our schools seem to be only of interest to parents, but it would be nice for everyone to be involved.”

Corvalan “love[s] our non-profits, the Food Pantry, Clothing Closet, Loving Cup and the social services fair that is put on by volunteers.” She’d like to explore how she, as a trustee, could support these important services. 

She would like to use taxes and fees collected from Short Term Rentals (STR’s) to create a specific fund to help people pay rent during periods of illness or injury. She believes “STR’s can generate an enormous revenue if we manage it properly.” 

Corvalan would like to support a thriving downtown by “keeping [people] up here and making our downtown attractive and welcoming.” She stated, “we are really going to have to brainstorm this parking situation.” Corvalan “likes the idea of the DDA, but they also need to be more transparent and allow everyone in the district to vote and show clearly how much money they generate and how much money they spend. We need transparency with our budget, especially when taxes keep increasing.”

She stated, “I believe that cultural events bring people, and those people spend money. The board needs to move forward with a festival space that can accommodate various types of events and festivals,” and she would like to see the BOT support festivals and their organizers, “instead of creating new fines and challenges, etc.”

Eric Coombs Esmail moved to Nederland in 2016, and previously lived in Boulder for five years. He lives with his partner and their foster child.  He is a filmmaker, specializing in cinematography, documentary and experimental media in addition to being a faculty member at the University of Colorado Boulder, in the Department of Critical Media Practices, and the director of the Mimesis Center for Documentary and Ethnographic Media.

Esmial has attended Green Mountain Valley School in Vermont, Desales University, Carbon Community College, Savannah College of Art and Design, University of Colorado Boulder, and State University of New York at Buffalo. He has “served on the board of the Mountain Forum for Peace since early 2017, first as a board member and, as of August 2018, as treasurer.” 

He was inspired by his recent work as a campaign finance director for Junie Joseph who successfully campaigned for socio-economic justice in Boulder. He is a social organizer committed to “slow politics [where] decisions made carefully and considered with the greatest number of people involved in the process regardless of creed, political affiliation, background or ability.”  Esmail says his “foremost priority is to remain true to these ideals, even under pressure, by organizing people around the issues that matter to us most, and to foster conversations that lead to carefully considered decisions for our town.”

“The people of Nederland have high aspirations for a better world, and we can be a model for other small towns looking for leadership. This includes providing health and emergency services, addressing the effects of the national housing crisis, caring for our environment, and promoting development that works for our residents. I will work to leverage the ingenuity of Nederland’s people to find alternative and non-traditional solutions to long-standing economic, environmental and social concerns. I will support community organizations that imagine creative ownership models, work to unlock the potential of our public resources and strengthen the social fabric of our town [to] resist the pressures from cities down below, corporate interests and predatory investors.”

“It is the duty of elected officials to organize the community and to solicit involvement. I believe that our residents collectively own our town, and I am committed to working as a delegate for the people, not simply a representative.”

“A verbal commitment to sustainability” must be matched by providing adequate means to live in a sustainable way. After an evaluation of past successes and opportunities, Esmail would like to create a “bold and achievable set of priorities” to update Vision 2020. 

“In a world that often demands that every parent have a full-time job, we must be able to provide respite for working families. We can use this as an opportunity to build community for the next generation, and to create work for those who need it.” He’d like to see childcare offered during town meetings to facilitate family involvement and to support eldercare in the community. 

Esmail sees the BOT as “a fundamental part of an ongoing community effort to maintain, improve and imagine our infrastructural future. Recreational traffic, parking, roads, water, energy, snow removal and access are issues that will always need to be updated, reimagined, and revolutionized, in an environmentally sustainable way.

“I am committed to ensuring that business development in Nederland is from and for our community, that it meets the needs of our residents and that it provides soul-satisfying work and fair wages for those who commit their labor to local projects.”

“The board should support the cultural events that reflect our values and make our town unique, such as Frozen Dead Guy Days, NedFest, Miners’ Days, and the Farmer’s Market. Responsible management of parks and open spaces, in particular, are key factors in how we can continue to support these events and demonstrate those values.”

Esmail has concerns that when social media “is the only venue for the collaboration and synthesis of ideas, it increases division rather than brings people together. He would hold regular “coffee talks” in an effort to be open and available to residents outside of regularly scheduled public meetings.

Mary Mead has lived in the Peak to Peak area for 10 years. “In that time, I lived two years in Ward and two years in Rollinsville. The rest of the time I have lived in Nederland and rented houses in the town limits.” Mead loves Nederland because of how “community based and family oriented we are… if you need jackets for your kids, people will give one to you.”

Mead has a dual master’s degree in African and Public History “encompass[ing] preservation, museum curation, oral history, park systems and archival management. I also have a Cultural Resource Management Certificate.”

She currently owns a music management company called Mountain Mama Management and is contracted out by individual artists, festivals and music venues to provide management, administrative service, music production, transportation, artist relations, hospitality and merchandising. Mead also has a “side jewelry and lapidary hobby where I cut stones and make customized handcrafted jewelry.”

She is involved with the Nederland Area Historical Society as of 2020, volunteered for the Adult Prom 2 in 2019, held benefit concerts and silent auctions for charity, was secretary for the Democratic Caucus in Nederland 2016, and was a member of the Mayor’s Marijuana Task in Nederland from 2013 to 2018 among other community work. 

Mead’s priorities if elected would be to “unite the town with transparency and honesty, create a Performance Music Amphitheater and increase music, art, and cultural festivals, and Improve local sustainable business and economic opportunities.” She said Nederland “needs to have someone managing it that is not trying to make it West Boulder.” 

Improving and supporting our local economy is important to Mead and she’d like to do so by facilitating “tourism, festivals and remov[ing] restrictions on STRs.” 

Mead would like to “research how to be a zero-waste town and reduce [the] environmental footprint [of] our community” including mandating buses to help manage Eldora traffic and address the pollution caused by idling cars. 

To better meet the needs of families in Nederland, she’d like to see a “dirt pump track near [Nederland Jr./Sr. High School] to encourage more outdoor time for local youth.” Mead would “encourage youth murals, art gatherings and Magic of the Wilderness programs to encourage more outdoor park time where kids have opportunities to teach younger kids.” She would also like to “hold regular mental and physical health workshops and resource gatherings for local support options.”

Mead believes Nederland “needs serious road improvements [and] ADA compliant sidewalk repairs.” She’d also like to address the “serious lack of parking” in an inclusive way to come up with a plan “we can all agree on.” 

She’s on board with “local art enhancements to improve the aesthetics,” and would like to create a local radio station [to] improve communication on all matters, to have another outlet to share besides social media. 

Mead sees “cultural events as a part of economic development” and supports “music festivals, art festivals, cultural experiences, the amphitheater being built to hold theatrical performances as well as music events. Volunteer-Giving Back Day, [as well as] wildlife and park events.” She would encourage business development with “creative workshops and information sessions, keynote speakers, entrepreneurship and business gatherings to share new ideas.”

Jonathan Baumhover’s family moved to Nederland when he was four years old “over the past 25 years, Nederland and these Mountains have been my home.” He attended Nederland Elementary School, Chinook West Alternative High School and earned a BS in Adventure Education from Green Mountain College, in Poultney, Vermont, on scholarship. He owns his own local business called Dauntless Pursuits, LLC and lives with his wife and 9 year old child. 

He was a board member of PROSAB from 2014 to 2017 and “worked on updating Nederland Trails Master Plan, outreach to USFS, Saws and Slaws, Noxious Weed pulls, field trips to USFS mitigation sites, etc. Baumover was also a board member on the Nederland Noxious Weed Advisory Sub-Committee from 2015 to 2016. The BOT adopted the Noxious Weed Management Plan in 2017.  During that time, he volunteered as the noxious weed management coordinator while also running the Youth Corps at TEENS Inc. Baumhover was then elected to the Nederland Board of Trustees in 2018, served as liaison to PROSAB during that time and wishes to continue to serve Nederland on the BOT. 

Baumhover’s top three priorities are: to improve and maintain unity of government, further “a broad discourse about infrastructure, civil engineering and the social needs of Nederland, and to explore the possibility of a Peak to Peak Recreation District. 

Baumhover explained that there have been four town clerks in the last two years he’s been on the BOT and said, “I have seen enormous turnover in town staff and volunteers who keep this town moving forward. With this turnover and burnout has come an enormous loss of information, details, energy and documentation, all of which is a huge loss of time and effort and hinders the ability to make decisions.” He would like to “support living wage initiatives and work toward making our town staffing positions, wages and benefits as competitive as possible.” 

“Nederland faces a new era, one where it is on the map, known for its recreation, music, charm and quirky character across the country. People far and wide come to visit, enjoy, shop and stay. We seem to be overrun by folks coming up from the flats to enjoy what we all cherish so much. We can’t kick the can down the road when it comes to addressing problematic issues such as traffic flow and capacity, parking, etc. Nederland is currently a civil engineering nightmare. We have three state highways and a river running through it with only one real access point for both pedestrians and vehicles to cross that river. The current and projected traffic has surpassed the infrastructure in place. These issues need to be addressed so that us locals can enjoy our town during the weekends as well.” He’d like to continue to research and use existing studies around parking and traffic flow in order to maintain adequate parking turnover for locals and businesses, as well as coordinate efforts with Colorado Department of Transportation and Eldora. 

Baumhover has also been bringing the establishment of a Peak to Peak Recreation District to the forefront of conversation and will prioritize the discussion if reelected. Nederland currently has Chipeta Park, the Skate Park, Nederland Ice and Racquet Park, Barker Reservoir Recreation Area, including Guercio Field, and many neighborhood parks unknown even to locals. Additionally, there are whole networks of trails, and the Nederland Cemetery - all this just within town limits. Plus, just outside town limits there are almost innumerable recreation activities, options and camps drawing visitors from all over. 

These areas rely on a network of volunteers, nonprofit organizations, civic and neighborhood organizations that could be supported, organized and funded using a recreational district as a tool. “I believe such a district will allow the greater Peak to Peak to pool resources and energy, better manage our collective recreational resources, and in turn offer more diverse and comprehensive recreational programming and opportunities for all ages. In addition, it is my belief that this district could also become pivotal in helping to address certain issues we are facing as a greater community, including illegal camping, overcrowding and overuse of shared public lands, degradation and deferred maintenance of trails, delayed or forgone installation of infrastructure and facilities,” as well as support the staffing sorely needed to maintain the resources we have. Baumhover believes “that effective management of our recreational resources can help to provide great opportunities for environmental education and greater access to funding for ecological conservation and restoration.”

Sustainability, waste and composting are important components of sustainability to Baumhover, who would like to see strong steps toward zero waste, a commitment to composting and moving Nederland’s waste treatment facility forward. 

He’d also like to continue working on affordable housing solutions, realizing that creative and collaborative solutions will be imperative as market prices are unattainably high for many who live in Nederland. He’s happy with some of the changes in building code, the ADU ordinance and would look into tiny house options and workforce housing.

Baumhover is also very aware of the dynamic social fabric of this community and is dedicated to doing his best to balance the diversity of views and interpretations of the town’s identity, values and goals and would like to continue to serve on the BOT to provide continuity and leadership to support the economic, social and environmental sustainability of Nederland. 

Lindsey Danforth grew up in Ohio and spent summers in Colorado with her family. She bought her home in Nederland in 2017 “after bouncing around in Boulder for a few years and not feeling like I had found my forever home.” She said “moving to Nederland was the best decision of my life as I have made many lifelong friends, fell in love and got married.” Indeed, Danforth is now married to incumbent Mayor Kristopher Larsen.

When asked about her name, and the timing of her candidacy, she simply and patiently explained that she chose to keep her surname, regardless of this election, and that she desires to be of service to the community she loves. 

It’s actually not unusual for related individuals to serve as elected officials at the same time in their local governments. Coincidentally, Mead Colorado has a husband and wife running for mayor and trustee as well. Hopefully, Nederland voters will ascertain her candidacy on her individual merits. She kindly explained “I would like to be seen as my own person. I’ve been involved in volunteer work way before I met Kris. I was on the Planning Commission as soon as I moved here in 2017 and met him in 2018.” 

Danforth is currently finishing her thesis for her master’s degree in Geography and Planning from the University of Toledo. She works remotely as a geospatial information systems (GIS) developer on projects for the county assessors, State Forest Services and small municipalities on database design, analyzing workflows, breaking down information silos and delivering plans for more efficient use of technology. 

Her motivation to join the BOT is inspired by the sense of community she’s found here with her friends and neighbors. For her, Nederland is about “community, how everyone knows everyone and cares and checks in with one another.” She would like to work toward affordable housing, supporting social services, accessibility and to support families and an aging population, all reflecting her desire for inclusivity and community.   

Danforth was on the Planning Commission for three years and feels she’s learned a lot during that time. She related that she’d like to be on the BOT to apply that knowledge and because “planning makes recommendations which can get lost at the BOT so I’d like to have a greater voice there.” She’d also like to support the “strong, smart women of the Town Hall, and Nederland in general.” 

Danforth said, “I don’t want to see lots of investors turning Nederland into a resort town. Nederland has a unique history and character. I fell in love with Nederland the way it was. I want to preserve the festivals, the music identity, and support the art scene. I hope we get something like the NedFest back.” 

She’d also like to focus on communication and building trust between elected officials and the town at large. She believes “all town boards can be better about sharing information that impacts residents and therefore get more feedback and engagement before mistakes are made or rumors have a chance to take hold.

“The Board of Trustees plays a critical role in all aspects of town from budgeting for police or infrastructure repairs, to economic development, to reducing our impact on the environment, to housing needs, and to encouraging community engagement with events and festivals of all types. We need to look to the future of Nederland and take the time now to plan and prepare.”

It is important to note that meeting the needs of a small town involves more than what the Board of Trustees can accomplish alone, it involves partnerships with resources or programs both public and private, local and regional. 

“The Board of Trustees is made up of Nedheads and it’s never about one side winning and the other losing – it’s about understanding how decisions can impact others and finding a compromise so we all can live harmoniously in our beautiful mountain town. I strongly desire to see Nederland thrive because this is where I want to spend the rest of my life. I want to protect our small-town sense of community and make sure we are planning for our future with a thoughtful and balanced approach that takes into consideration the desires of residents as well as our impacts on the environment.”

Julian Taylor has been a Nederland resident for 22 years. He lives with his wife Janette Taylor, who’s well known to the community for her work in health and human services. Their children are grown. While Janette Taylor is important to Nederland, and he’d be very careful to recuse himself as needed, Julian Taylor is interested in joining the BOT because he believes he has a unique and powerful skill set that could enable Nederland to organize the cacophony into a cohesive voice, vision and set of realistic and benchmarked goals.

Taylor has studied sociology and business at Oklahoma State University and math through differential equations at Colorado University. He believes his extensive experience as a senior staff member, organizing engineers and projects for companies such as Sun Microsystems, has prepared to help Nederland identify common goals, get to the bottom of core issues and forge a path forward. 

He noted that upper level or top driven projects failed more often than bottom up ideas that were collaborative and succeeded. Everyone who is a stakeholder gets into the room. With “lots of experience in negotiating processes and different ideas” he believes he can help people “communicate, express themselves and be heard.” He says the BOT meetings he’s attended in recent years, “talk about community and how we need to reduce the rancor.” 

Taylor’s priorities are to “drive discussion to constructive problem-solving by helping participants to focus on the facts of the case and solutions.” As well as to “promote policy that supports the health of local business, including innovative non-traditional businesses.

Regarding environmental health, Taylor says, “most environmental issues arise well outside of the town’s control, but when the BOT has an opportunity to encourage environmentally progressive procedures, it must be done in such a way as to assure acceptance by the community.” He is interested in exploring energy independence and discovering ways Nederland might move beyond the carbon economy. Additionally, he’d like to “get stakeholders to the table” on the issue of single use plastics and find ways to legitimately reduce waste. 

Taylor would like to see the business climate of Nederland be supported beyond the need to rely on tourism or seasonal visitors and to establish a strong local economy that supports the town’s ability to both live and work locally. He said, “The current economy favors the rich over the poor. That means stress, anger and blame. Humans respond poorly to continuous stress; and human families manifest that response. As a community, we are responsible to each other. When the BOT is confronted with opportunities to provide situations that support and protect its people, it should engage in those deliberations very seriously, judiciously balancing the needs of the few against the needs of the community. I am interested in other, more practical economic approaches, and I am impressed that Nederland is open to some cautious experimentation in this area.”

Regarding special events Taylor said, “While such events are important, I think it is most important to establish policies that will drive more consistent year-around economic vitality. There is value in the weekend extravaganza, but such a blow-out may introduce more difficulty than value if not well planned. I would hope that the BOT could play a role in assuring that such events are profitable and minimally disruptive.”

Karen Blakemore has lived in Nederland for over two years, having moved up from Boulder where she lived for 25 years. She holds an MS in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Dallas, and a BS in Math from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. She has two adult children and is recently retired from a career in software engineering.

She was nominated to the BOT on December 17, 2019 and has been a member of the Forsythe II Multi Party Monitoring Group from June 2019 to the present. Additionally, she has long been involved in committee work such as on the Boulder Valley School District Accountability Committee overseeing the budgets and school improvement plans and advising the board on charter school applications. 

Blakemore has always been “very interested in local government.” She thinks “we can get a lot of things done at local government rather than at higher levels.” Blakemore now has the time and space to dedicate herself to the research and attention required to understand the issues facing Nederland and the unique needs of its residents, and she believes that “all the issues we have in town right now are solvable.”

If elected, her priorities would include: redevelopment of the downtown area guided by the DDA Master Plan, development of Barker Meadows Park according to the 2019 Grant Application and the Nederland Area Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails Master Plan, and updating the 2014 Housing Needs Assessment. 

“I would prioritize redevelopment of the First Street Commercial Area to make it into more of a destination place than it currently is. By drawing more residents and visitors to the area, sales would increase. The area would become more family friendly and provide more opportunities to socialize and recreate. Specific improvements to consider are: improved pedestrian access with more sidewalks, infill on undeveloped lots, mixed use development including workforce housing, a park-like setting along the creek, outdoor seating, public art, a small outdoor music venue and preservation of Snyder’s Garage for public use. Ideally, parking would be moved to lots outside of the area, but still within walking distance.” 

“On the shores of Barker Reservoir and within walking distance to downtown, the Barker Meadows Park is in the perfect location [for a] multi-use recreational space for residents and visitors, while maintaining its natural setting. Purchasing of the propane property should be pursued.

“A study was done in 2014 assessing the housing needs within Nederland and the surrounding mountain areas. The study takes into consideration many factors that contribute to the need, availability and quality of housing. Since the study was done, housing prices have increased, more housing has been built, new businesses have opened, short term and ADU regulations have been established and the 2020 census is taking place. Updating the study will give us a better understanding of the housing needs for Nederland. This information can be used to inform decisions around housing, infrastructure [and possible] long term rental regulations.”

Blakemore believes family is an integral part of Nederland’s unique culture and said “children need to have a safe, healthy environment and a quality education. Parents need affordable childcare and may also need financial support to provide adequate housing, clothing, food and healthcare. The Board can support families through their decisions and legislation.” 

Regarding special events Blakemore believes that “historically, cultural events have played a significant role in the town’s economic [and social] development. This includes events such as Frozen Dead Guy Days, Miner’s Day, Ned Fest and the High Peaks Arts Festival. Because of the town’s location, it is uniquely positioned to attract visitors to cultural events and festivals. The Board should continue to support these events and others, but be sure to balance them with the needs of residents.” 

All Mayoral and Trustee candidates will be participating in a moderated Candidates Forum on March 10, 2020 from at 7 p.m. in the Nederland Community Center. The public is encouraged to attend. Town Hall will be compiling questions for the candidates. Questions can be submitted via the town’s website or in written form the night of. 

(Originally published in the February 27, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)