NEDERLAND - On Tuesday, February 4, 2025, the Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) received a brief report from Town Administrator Jonathan Cain regarding the potential impact of a freeze on federal funding. Though the BOT heard which major Town projects are in danger of being indefinitely delayed, there was no discussion on the matter.

At the same meeting, the Board approved a project that will require the Town applying for a federal grant.

The order from the Executive Office of President Donald Trump was distributed to the heads of all U.S. Government Executive Departments and Agencies by the Office of Management and Budget on January 27, 2025. 

Memorandum M-25-13 calls for the “temporary pause of agency grant, loan, and other financial assistance programs.” It reads: “In Fiscal Year 2024, of the nearly $10 trillion that the Federal Government spent, more than $3 trillion was Federal financial assistance, such as grants and loans.

“Career and political appointees in the Executive Branch have a duty to align Federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through Presidential priorities.

“Financial assistance should be dedicated to advancing Administration priorities, focusing taxpayer dollars to advance a stronger and safer America, eliminating the financial burden of inflation for citizens, unleashing American energy and manufacturing, ending ‘wokeness’ and the weaponization of government, promoting efficiency in government, and Making America Healthy Again.

“These executive orders ensure that Federal funds are used to support hardworking American families.

“To the extent permissible under applicable law, Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal.

“This temporary pause will provide the Administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the President’s priorities.”

In the name of supporting American families, this executive order created ripples across Boulder and Gilpin Counties once it went into effect, at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, January 28. The freeze caused significant disruption in some cases, though it mostly invoked general confusion and uncertainty. 

Organizations in Boulder and Nederland, from educational institutions and research laboratories to public service programs and non-profits, are either unaware of how the funding freeze will affect them directly, or worried about the indirect impact, such as a rise in competition among charities over other funding sources. 

As Boulder-based taxpayer-funded federal laboratories and other research programs that center on environmental concerns assess the situation, Wild Bear Nature Center in Nederland, currently developing a large environmental education facility, is also paying close attention, worried that the nature of their work is not a priority for the Trump administration.

Representatives for local education and for youth-focused organizations, including Boulder Valley School District, TEENS, Inc., Peak to Peak Endurance, and Boulder-based youth mountain biking program SMBA, all offered a similar statement: that there would be no immediate impact to their programs, but that they were monitoring for the indirect implications of the freeze.

“I don’t think it will affect us in terms of operations because we rely on donors and program fees to cover our operating costs. But indirectly it could affect us,” SMBA Director Heather Williams told The Mountain-Ear.

“It reduces the pool of potential grant funding that we could apply for and it could impact families who participate in our programs financially if they are working with, or for, federally funded projects, research, or programs. That could reduce our sign-ups, our participation, and ultimately our operating income from program fees.”

Nationally, childcare and preschool programs who rely on federal funding to pay staff are at risk of closing indefinitely due to the freeze. Head Start, for instance, may have to end more than 45 programs that serve over 20,000 children from low-income households across the country. 

Monitoring the indirect impact of this executive order is a strategy also being employed by non-profits, from larger organizations like Meals On Wheels, to more concentrated local efforts like the Nederland Food Pantry (NFP). 

Though the NFP is mostly funded by County resources and private donations, Community Food Share, the food bank that serves Boulder and Broomfield Counties, does receive federal funds, as do several programs designed to serve American families experiencing poverty.

"As you probably know, a temporary suspension has been put on federal funds until a hearing on Monday. That said, the new orders on pausing federal funds does not currently affect SNAP, WIC, or Medicaid,” a representative for Community Food Share stated.

“We do not yet know if the pause affects USDA programs such as TEFAP (The Emergency Food Assistance Program), CSFP (Commodity Supplemental Food Program), or disaster assistance. As far as federal grants go, we know nothing yet except that funds will not be reimbursed for federal grants spent if the order stands.”

As for how the freeze affects local governments, a Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) project to improve Highway 119 between Boulder and Longmont will be delayed, as $25 million in federal funding was being sought to improve what is considered one of the most dangerous stretches of road in Colorado for motorists and bicyclists. 

The Town of Nederland was relying on federal funding for three major transportation infrastructure projects. 

The Safer Main Streets and transportation infrastructure improvement projects, also through CDOT, were both aimed at improving Nederland’s dangerous sidewalks, streets, and crosswalks through federal grants.

The Big Springs Emergency Egress project, particularly the construction of the route once approved, was also expected to be funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“There may be things where we need to briefly pause what we’re doing just to make sure that we’re not spending Town money that we were anticipating having reimbursed,” Cain said about the funding freeze’s impact on Town operations.

“For now we’re at relatively normal operation; we’re trying to proactively respond to a very uncertain situation.”

Trustees did not comment on the situation; during the same meeting, the BOT approved applying for the Energy Improvements in Rural and Remote Areas (ERA) federal grant to help fund a microgrid to be installed at the Town’s wastewater treatment plant. 

As of that meeting, the President’s memorandum to freeze all federal funding had been rescinded. U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan extended the block on the attempted freeze and issued an order on Monday, February 3, to the Office of Management and Budget, to disregard the directives within M-25-13.

Judge AliKhan gave the office until Friday, February 7 to give a status report on how it is complying with the order; however, as of Wednesday, February 5, many organizations and agencies claim that they still do not have access to federal funds they were already awarded. 

The informational presentation from Cain has prompted the need for further reporting on this issue. The freeze on federal funds is just one executive order from the Trump White House that will have a significant impact on mountain communities.

The Peak Report is a new weekly column in The Mountain-Ear with the aim to address the abundance and expediency at which these executive orders are being issued and implemented by willing collaborators in our state and county. 

This report will primarily focus on the effect that the Trump administration’s policies will have on Boulder and Gilpin County’s businesses, non-profit programs, capital improvement projects, public health, education, and other public services. 

Next week: continued reporting on the issue of local governments and programs being restricted access to federal funds; and the effect that tariffs on imported goods will have on commercial businesses in the Peak to Peak region.