In the last five years, I have found myself participating in local government a lot more. Specifically in the last three years of COVID, I have listened to thousands of meetings. Sometimes those meetings get personal and I end up speaking, which I never regret but often wish I had been more eloquent. Tonight was one of those nights. I am glad I said what I needed to say. And thankful most of the board members were respectful and listened to my concerns.
Many of you know I wear a couple of hats around the region. I am first, and foremost, a resident of Gilpin County (Just about to start my 37th year in Colorado), and a parent of a senior in high school. So the Gilpin County government is exceptionally important to me. However, that’s not what this is about tonight (for some reason the Gilpin meeting was canceled today). And some school meetings are super important to me. Again, not tonight’s topic.
I am also a board member for the Peak to Peak Chamber of Commerce (vice president), an advisory board member on the Gilpin Advertising Panel (GAP), and a board member on the Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA). Gosh is that the whole list? I think I got them all.
Anyways, a LOT of hours in meetings every week, beyond my regular work meetings at my paying job.
Finally, we’re here, the reason for my speaking up a bit. Tonight, I listened to the Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting. At the beginning of that meeting they were discussing the budget. It’s a small budget compared to some municipalities. But overall, the town seems set on finding ways to raise money to pay for things they want. And that’s what a town should do, right? One part of the meeting turned to Paid Parking, which I have been absolutely AGAINST since it first came up. Not because a well thought out idea wouldn’t benefit the community, but because it’s a half-formed idea that seems punitive to some parts of town. The plan of having the downtown area as paid parking WILL affect all of the businesses (and residents and visitors) of town.
We, my husband and I, own one of those businesses. We own Brightwood Music, located in Caribou Village Shopping Center. We deal with parking issues all the time. And by we, I mean many of the tenants that rent there. We have people park for hours, taking up spaces our customers could use. We have people park overnight (which is not allowed according to our leases). We have school buses and RVs that park and hang out for hours (even days). So here’s my complaint. Please do not throw the burden on us, the tenants of the businesses, to implement a poorly drafted parking plan that benefits far LESS than the 19 businesses in the shopping center. It truly benefits Town Hall and the businesses on lower 1st Street. Talk to the businesses (ALL of them) and come up with a plan that can work for everyone.
Again, not against paid parking overall, just against a plan that will put the burden on the businesses that pay all the sales tax to support the town. Somehow this seems counterproductive.
Please, if you care about the future of downtown parking in Nederland, write letters to the editor (email info@themountainear.com). Write letters to the BOT (email bot@nederlandco.org) or submit to ALL town boards here: https:// townofnederland.colorado.gov/contact-aboard-or-commission.
Please speak up (for or against) about the Town government and the direction they are going, before it’s too late.
