The Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) met on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at 7 p.m. to vote on contracting with Interstate Parking for a two-month trial of paid parking downtown. The BOT also discussed prohibiting impactful activities within the Town’s watershed, to be dictated by a potential Watershed Protection Ordinance.

The Board revisited Revolution 2024-33, regarding a cost-shared Parking Management Agreement with Interstate Parking, which is slated to provide paid parking implementation and enforcement in downtown Nederland for a trial period. All Town-owned parking spaces at the Visitor’s Center lot and on East 1st Street are expected to cost $2.50 an hour, after an initial free 20 minutes.

Interstate will install kiosks and QR codes at the specific locations, as well as incorporating residents’ passes for free parking. Previously, Trustees had stipulated that Interstate would collect and report to the Town any data pertinent to turnover and lot usage.

According to the draft contract: “Interstate agrees to share information and data with the Town Administrator related to parking activities.” Such activities include “information on length of time that vehicles are parked, customer address information, parking turnover information, number of customers paying, and number of Gratis Parking.”

Interstate will report such data weekly, as well as provide a monthly record of all customer complaints. All other data can be requested by the Town of Nederland, which Interstate will provide to the Town Administrator within five days of receiving the request.

The Town will be responsible for maintaining all sidewalks around the paid parking spaces, for snow and trash removal, and for paying Interstate a “management fee.” The fee totals 50% of all net revenue, “calculated and paid to Interstate on a monthly basis based upon the prior month’s net revenue for each calendar month during the operating year.”

Interstate is responsible for all “operating expenses” and for maintaining their signage and equipment. Such expenses include: all personnel wages and insurance costs; the hardware, software and processing costs of Interstate’s “license plate recognition based enforcement system”; development, management, and maintenance costs of the ParkNederland.com website and app; the monthly fees for processing credit card payments online; and the costs of equipment maintenance, repair, or replacement.

Trustees discussed the prospect of providing free parking for Town staff and for employees of Nederland’s local businesses. Town Administrator Jonathan Cain recommended, from his experience working with Interstate developing paid parking for Idaho Springs, that the Town require an itemized report of all fees associated with Interstate’s operations, for auditing purposes and transparency.

Cain also suggested including within the contract an appeals process for customers who have received parking violations, and also that Interstate provide an account of how many violations occur within a specific period of time, as the Town shares the revenue collection from violations with Interstate.

After seeking clarification from Community Planner Britt DeMinck and from Town Attorney Jennifer Madsen, the BOT proceeded to vote on whether the Town should provide free parking after a specific time or on specific days, whether to change the dates for the trial period, and whether the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) boundaries should be used when considering who is eligible for a resident pass.

According to www.bvsd.org, the district encompasses “Boulder, Gold Hill, Jamestown, Lafayette, Louisville, Nederland, Superior, and parts of Broomfield and Erie.” The northern half of Gilpin County also falls within BVSD boundaries.

The Board approved providing free parking for all of Town’s paid parking spaces from 6 p.m. to 10 a.m.; to follow the BVSD boundaries when issuing resident passes; and for the paid parking trial period with Interstate to begin August 15 and to end on October 15.

Trustees then appointed two candidates for available positions on the Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA). Ron Mitchell and Catherine Valen, whose terms ended after June 30, both applied for reappointment. Everett Nielsen and Nathan Smallwood also applied for four-year terms on the NDDA.

During their meeting on June 12, NDDA Board members officially recommended Mitchell and Smallwood for the two available seats. The BOT voted differently, with Mayor Billy Giblin stating his belief that the NDDA would benefit from a change in leadership and some new voices on their Board.

Mayor Pro Tem Nichole Sterling moved to appoint Mitchell. That, however, was not seconded and did not go to a vote. It was noted that Trustee Tania Corvalan, who is the BOT liaison to the NDDA but was not present for the July 2 meeting, had written to Trustees expressing her support for the NDDA’s recommendation to appoint Mitchell.

Trustee Kristopher Larsen moved to appoint Valen, which was seconded. The motion was denied. Giblin made a motion to appoint Smallwood, which was seconded and passed, as was Giblin’s motion to appoint Nielsen.

The BOT also voted on Resolution 2024 - 29, regarding the proposal by Caribou Ridge property owners for the Town of Nederland to acquire three private roadways, Ridge View Road, Caribou Ridge Drive, and Juneau Circle. Town staff is unsure of the cost to maintain the roads, though Public Works departments claim no issues as they already service roads in that subdivision.

Parks Department Manager and Interim Town Administrator Nicki Dunn specified that the Town would not be responsible for anything more than routine maintenance of the roads, which the Town already provides as they already operate in that area.

The BOT voted to approve Resolution 2024-29.

The Board discussed how best to allocate the remaining $25,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds, which has been dedicated to support nonprofit organizations that serve the area. Trustees discussed different approaches to allocating the funds, including providing fixed amount or needs-based grants, providing funding or match funding specifically for projects, or providing funds for “capacity building.”

With only four members of the BOT present during the discussion, they were generally in agreement that providing funding or match funding for projects was the best method for allocating the funds to non-profit organizations.

Trustees discussed the potential creation of a Watershed Protection Ordinance, and stated which activities should be prohibited because of their potential impact to Nederland’s watershed. Such activities include: sewage system construction; the storage of hazardous materials; drilling operations; the use of pesticides and herbicides; wildfire mitigation; and post-fire rehabilitation.

Per the Watershed Protection Map, developed by Ashley Bembenek who was contracted by the Town in July of 2022, Nederland’s watershed crosses into both Boulder and Gilpin Counties. Both entities have requested the opportunity to give their feedback on the BOT’s decisions regarding the protection ordinance and prohibited activities.

Mayor Giblin added that Eldora Mountain Ski Resort is also interested in being involved in both the conversation and the process of crafting such an ordinance.

The BOT were provided with watershed protection ordinances for The City of Victor and the Town of Crested Butte. Town Attorney Madsen noted that Crested Butte’s ordinance is significantly more robust than Victor’s, requiring property owners to apply for permits for certain watershed activities, particularly related to mining operations.

Madsen said that often such ordinances are created by municipalities as a defensive measure, and cited as an example the attempt by Grand Island Resources, LLC to earn Designated Mining Operation status for the Caribou and Cross Mines. Madsen stated that drafting the ordinance, as well as enforcing it, will be an “administrative burden.”

As Trustees Corvalan, Larsen, and Tierney Maris were absent, the Board decided to table the discussion until all seven Trustees were present.

The BOT also approved leases for several tenants to rent the Nederland Community Center’s commercial kitchen, and approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Denver Regional Council of Governments for the development of a Peak-to-Peak volunteer driver program.

The Nederland Board of Trustees meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at 7 p.m. and can be attended either online or in person at the Nederland Community Center. For more information go to: https://townofnederland.colorado.gov/boardoftrustees.