Chris Pelletier, Nederland. This is a busy time of year for Public Works, and the department is thankful for an early start to summer. The department is in full swing trying to accomplish summer projects. Public Works has been focusing on the downtown area with its annual striping of the Visitor’s Center Parking Lot. The department also added a piece of mining equipment to the courtyard at Town Hall which adds to the rich mining history of the town.

The department spent time on Jefferson Street to grind and process the deteriorated road in front of the Kathmandu Plaza and recompact and stabilize the material. This road has plagued the department for many years as it has been pushed beyond its normal useful life with continuous potholes that seem to never go away no matter what the department does.

Public Works made the ultimate decision to return the road to dirt to more effectively maintain it. With the help of road tax funds, staff is able to acquire a road stabilizer that helps to preserve and solidify soil and provide longevity to dirt surfaces.

The streets crew has also done some work to stabilize Lower Navajo Trail Drive. The steepness of this road and the high volume of traffic on it has historically deteriorated the road quickly. Staff tracks road grading operations to understand frequency and time spent on certain roads. Lower Navajo Drive was stabilized in July of 2019 and the road maintained a relatively fair condition until June 2020. This is unprecedented. Being able to stabilize roads that notoriously deteriorate quickly has been very beneficial for Public Works.

Staff has also been working to make sign repairs and fulfill requests for more signage. The town’s vacuum and jet truck is used to more efficiently excavate the holes for sign posts. 

Staff also uses this truck to clear culverts and relies on community input to inform them of potential drainage issues so they can be resolved before they become bigger ones. Proper drainage is the key to preserving the road’s surface and improving the longevity of the road. 

Staff met with local ecologist, Rea Orthner, who volunteers to help mitigate noxious weeds in town. Rea has been an essential and passionate force who is critical to this effort. Last year, staff experimented with a company that uses steam to eradicate weeds which is an environmentally friendly way of mitigating stubborn weeds as opposed to using chemicals. This year, the DDA has contributed funding to partner with the town and continue this effort. The company that was chosen is called Steam Works and will be doing work around the downtown area on Mondays and Fridays during the month of June. 

Public Works has also been hard at work to open Chipeta Park for its seasonal operations. Nicki Dunn, the department’s lead parks person, is in charge of scheduling the regular maintenance of the park. The sprinkler systems have been serviced and charged for the watering season, mowing and weed trimming operations have begun and trail maintenance is being prioritized. Chipeta Park is a very busy place in the summer and is already booked up for the month of June.

The utilities crew is busy training two new employees and preparing for Nicole’s maternity leave at the end of the month. Staff will be starting the MIP/rate study update in June. The first step to this study will be to perform a hydraulic flow model of Nederland’s downtown distribution system to determine fire flow and potential flow restrictions. It will be critical to coordinate with the fire department to better understand their needs for fire flow. When the flow model is complete, a plan can be formulated for future upgrades such as fire hydrant replacement and upsizing water mains. These upgrades can be built into a master schedule for planning and financial purposes as we start to dial in the Master Infrastructure Plan. 

Staff has also received an estimate for a phased approach to grit removal at the WasteWater Treatment Facility for JVA Inc. Staff has presented these concerns to the BOT over the past few meetings and has been working with the town’s engineers to come up with the most efficient solution to this problem. The first step will be to install the underground infrastructure. The cost for this piece of the project will be approximately $25,000. This will be a good first step and will still offer staff the ability to mitigate grit in the interim while planning continues for a final mechanical solution. 

Staff will present a proposal to reallocate funds designated for I&I in 2020 to fund this first phase of grit removal. This will not impact current I&I work scheduled for this year. Grit removal has risen in priority since the new Biosolids Facility was constructed. Staff will bring a proposal in the near future for the BOT’s consideration. This project will also be a part of the MIP for future financial planning.

Finally, staff has been planning the town’s annual clean-up event. Based on input at the last pre-event meeting, the group decided to move the event to August 1, 2020. This date will better accommodate the Boulder County Transfer Station needs and allow for more time to elapse on Covid-19 restrictions. Staff is eager to hold the event and is planning to improve waste diversion and provide more public outreach for a variety of town efforts.

(Originally published in the June 18, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)