Chris Pelletier, Nederland Public Works Manager. Public Works continues to be productive during the pandemic while understaffed. Staff repaired a Ned Peds sidewalk by RTD. The DDA is providing funds to make repairs to sidewalks that have proven to be problematic. Sidewalks that have pervious materials on slopes have washed out and require constant repair and maintenance. Staff has replaced the soil in some of the sidewalks with concrete to provide a permanent surface requiring minimal maintenance and providing ideal ADA compliance. Staff will continue to identify the sidewalks that need to be upgraded and schedule repairs throughout the summer. Sidewalks that are stable will be left alone and remain pervious as was originally intended.

Public Works Staff has poured a concrete slab at the performance space for construction of a utility shed to house the electrical components for permanent power for special events. This has been a long multi step process that is in the home stretch toward completion. Staff secured an electrical design for receptacles and adequate power for most events. A transformer was set to supply the required electrical load. The DDA has appointed a person to work with staff on the completion of the utility shed which is intended to protect the equipment from the weather, wind, vandalism and provide safer access to the equipment when in use. The next steps are to complete the structure, schedule the electrician to install the equipment, and to excavate and install the connection to the transformer. Staff hopes to complete this work by the end of June.

Grading was completed in Old Town this month and some of the downtown roads that needed attention. Staff will move into Big Springs at the end of the month. Staff has been experimenting with an environmentally friendly soil stabilizer for the past couple of years on high traffic roads that wear out quickly. We have focused mainly on Big Springs Drive and Navajo Drive with this product and it seems to have made a significant difference to the longevity of the grading work that is performed. Typically, winter and spring deteriorate these two roads and cause constant maintenance issues. Both roads have held up quite well through the entire winter and have maintained their original shape and crown and need just minor grading improvements. This helps to free up staff to address other areas that need attention and allows staff to make lasting improvements to the roadways. Staff will retreat these two high traffic roads again in June and expect these roads to continue to improve.

Staff will be focusing on repairing and adding signs. Staff uses the Town’s jet/vac truck to install signs as it makes for a clean installation with little concern of damaging existing utilities. The vac truck gets winterized in the fall and is parked unless needed for an emergency. We avoid putting water in this machine because of the potential to freeze vital components. Come summer time it’s an important piece of equipment for a variety of operations. Speed limit signs were installed on First Street.

The wetland project that was in last month’s PW Staff report has been postponed until 2021. Eldora has other projects to focus on and wants to wait until next year to complete this work. Staff will keep you updated as things progress with that project.

In June of 2019, staff submitted a grant to Xcel Energy for their Community Resilience Initiative program that offers to add battery back-up systems for communities that provide emergency services to its community members. One of the criteria is that the battery back-up must provide back-up to an existing solar array. The Community Center was chosen as an ideal fit for this funding opportunity. Staff met with representatives from Xcel to review the site and received positive feedback. Xcel included Nederland’s Community Center as one of seven locations that will be part of their application to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). A letter of support for this project was signed by the Mayor in December of 2019. Xcel Energy will have the final results of their request to the PUC in September of 2020, however, it has been going through its regulatory process and has made it past some significant hurdles. Staff was recently updated on the progress of this project and it is anticipated that Nederland’s project will be approved. 

The next steps to this will be to grant Xcel an easement for the area that this equipment will be located. The area that this battery back-up storage system will take is expected to be roughly 15’ x 20’ and consist of a modular battery pack, a transformer, a control cabinet, and an inverter. Staff hopes to bring this easement before the BOT in July. Xcel will integrate the system with the Community Center’s existing electrical system. Other steps include permitting, safety training, and community engagement on the project. Construction is anticipated to begin in the spring of 2021.

Old Town Shop Update

Staff updated the BOT on progress of the soils mitigation in September of 2019. At the time, staff excavated holes at the Old Town Shop site for evaluation on a Phase 2 Environmental Assessment. Holes were excavated nearly 16 feet deep to assess soil contamination.

Representatives from DS Environmental Consulting were contracted to field measure potential volatile contamination and determine if more testing is needed. In the lower portions of the excavation strong odors of petroleum was observed. Onsite monitoring equipment measured high parts per million VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds). Based on the field observations samples were collected and sent to the lab to understand the extent of the contamination in the soil. These results will determine if drilling in the surrounding area will be needed to understand the size of the area or “plume” also known as a Vapor Encroachment Condition (VEC). In the existing slab it was speculated that a dry well was used some time in the past to discharge used petroleum products into the ground. The slab contained a vertical culvert that had been filled in some time ago and probably extends as deep as 15 feet. While this is just speculation, the Environmental Consultants have seen this at other sites. It also explains why the contamination was not realized until the depth of the excavation reached 15 feet.

In January of this year staff received lab results that show there are levels of contamination that will require mitigation, but it is not clear at this time what the extent of the clean-up will be. It was speculated that the existing slab contained a dry well that would allow contaminates from vehicles parked in the building to enter the ground. No active dumping on the site was suspected which is good news however more excavation and testing must be done to understand the extent of the contamination. Staff has received a quote to perform more tests and will continue the testing this month. Staff is aiding in the effort by performing the excavations for soils testing to help reduce the costs. The BOT will be updated as more information comes in. soil samples will take place the third week of May.

The Utilities Crew has been equally busy this month. Two part time employees were added to the Department and preparations are in place to prepare for the summer season and Nicole’s maternity leave. One of the demanding parts of this Department outside of regular operations is construction oversight. The Department is continually bombarded with locate requests for construction activities which by law have to be performed within three days. Then the actual oversight of contractors requires constant follow-up. Construction hasn’t slowed down like other businesses have due to the pandemic, so connections are still being made to Nederland’s utilities and this requires a lot of staff attention. Shutting down water mains so contractors can make their connections is very time consuming and involves finding valves and notifying customers of potential outages. Once again, when looking for valves it is realized that Nederland’s water system is aging, and future planning will be needed to prevent system failures. Staff exposed water valves that are no longer operational and will need to replace one of these this summer to maintain proper system water flow. Depending on where the valve is located, a valve will cost roughly $5000 to replace if staff performs the work. This is time consuming and technical work.

Infiltration and Inflow (I&I) work has been happening this month as is customary every spring. Staff goes out into the collection system at 3 a.m. to open manholes and see if excess flow can be identified. The idea is that at 3 a.m. there should be very little flow in the collection system since most people are sleeping. The flow that is identified is assumed to be I&I. In the spring time ground water levels rise and where there is damage to the collection system ground water enters the system and ends up at the waste water treatment facility and ultimately affects the capacity of the facility. I&I has the potential to reduce the capacity of the waste water facility and violate the Town’s permit which can trigger the need to expand. Upgrading and repairing the collection system has been a priority of the Department since 2013 and significant progress has been made. In years past Nederland had exceeded the capacity of the waste water facility which is 250,000 gallons a day during this time of year. This year we expect to stay below 80% of capacity and this is due to all the efforts to mitigate I&I. Staff has identified more areas where it is believed that repairs can be made and continue to reduce flow.

Staff reported last month about the need to add grit removal to the waste water treatment facility. On-call Engineers JVA Inc were contracted to provide an analysis of a temporary system to drop grit out of the system before it enters the treatment process. Calculations based on flow rates, total volumes, size of the grit and concentrations are used to determine the appropriate size of settling chamber and the estimated frequency of cleaning. These determinations were presented to staff along with some possible options for where best to locate the settling basin. JVA provided a proper depth and diameter of a settling basin that will act to intercept grit before it enters the treatment process. After choosing the best option and location, staff asked JVA to provide a drawing and an estimated Opinion of Probable Cost, OPC to perform this work. This system will be a temporary solution until estimated costs for an actual mechanical grit removal system can be priced and budgeted for future addition to the waste water treatment process. This analysis will still serve as the basis for a future design and installation of a true grit removal system. Staff will keep the BOT updated as progress is made.

Finally, staff is working to add a back-up generator to the Town Hall to support emergency preparedness. Town Hall is also the central hub of the communications network for all departments and when power outages happen communications with the water and waste water facilities are affected. This project was on hold over the winter because a lot of the project was outside and weather permitting. Staff has begun to coordinate the installation and prep the location of the generator. The electrical transfer switch has been installed and the final electrical work is anticipated to be completed this month. As with all things construction, there has been some obstacles that were realized. It was determined that the gas service to the Town Hall had to be updated and the gas meter replaced. This of course required Xcel to design and schedule this upgrade. The final step for staff will be to hire a plumber and upgrade the plumbing in Town Hall and make the connection to the generator. 

(Originally published in the May 21, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)