William Mead, Nederland.

The Nederland Board of Trustees met on Tuesday for their second regular meeting of the

month. The current board will meet twice more before April's elections.

The town of Nederland's revenue was $341,000 over budget in the last fiscal year. This was

primarily due to sales tax revenue. Mayor Kristopher Larsen expressed the need to discuss how

that money will be spent and he noted that it will be a topic on next month's agenda.

The police force poses more questions about spending for the coming fiscal year. The

police have a need for more staff and a need to cover more patrol hours.

"We have been actively trying to recruit people," said Larry Johns, the Town Marshal.

In the meantime, the Boulder County Sheriff's office has been assisting Nederland by covering

some of their patrol hours.

"On a given night, they are already up here four hours, maybe more," said Johns.

For services in the future, the Sheriff's office has proposed a fee that may be more expensive

than hiring an internal employee in the Nederland office. The proposal guarantees four hours of

policing each day. The contract is still under discussion, and Nederland is looking for the best

value. The board did express some concerns.

"It feels a little bit like we are subsidizing the Sherriff's department for what they already

do," said Julie Gustafson, a member of the board.

Mayor Larsen directed Johns to continue analyzing the contract before bringing it back to the

table for discussion.

The board passed a resolution that allocates $30,000 for repairs to the visitor center. Most

of that money is maintenance cost, such as paint, flooring and a new boiler. All $30,000 will be

paid back in 2018.

The board spent a significant amount of time discussing the bench that will be built in front

of the visitor center. Plans call for the bench to meet the most basic standards, but board

members urged the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) to include enhancements such as

local artwork in order to improve the aesthetic.

"The bench in front of the visitor center is a clear opportunity to have it done locally and

have it done by an artist," said board member Kevin Mueller.

The DDA is seeking an additional $143,700 for a beautification program, a request that was

only partially approved by the board on Tuesday. Once the amount is fully approved, this

request is to be paid back within 22 months. The program involves many projects that are

aimed at improving the physical appeal of and around Nederland's infrastructure.

Only $10,000 of the total $143,700 was approved during the meeting on Tuesday. The

remaining $133,700 will be discussed on March 6.

The $10,000 that was approved represented a unique circumstance. That money is going to

be used for ordering plants early so that they don't arrive too late for the gardening season.

Board members thought that waiting until March 6 for this particular aspect of the

beautification program would be risky. The money that was approved early is to be paid back in

three months.

The meeting concluded with a discussion about the Nederland and Boulder County IGA.

There were no action items on this topic and Larsen indicated that no action will be made

within the next month. Until then, the IGA map is still very much under review.