NEDERLAND - With Town staff working to mitigate Nederland’s projected General Fund deficit in their 2025 budget, the Board of Trustees (BOT) met on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, to discuss the final drafts of the budget and fee schedule and move them forward through a public hearing.

Town Administrator Jonathan Cain and Treasurer Rita Six delivered a presentation of the revenue and expenditure highlights within the budget, a summary of the Town’s priorities for 2025, an overview of the proposed changes to Town fees, and data regarding the water and wastewater rates of neighboring municipalities.

Changes to the Town’s Fee Schedule include waiving business license and business license renewal fees related to liquor licensing and renewal fees; adding pricing for advertising space at NedRINK, including Zamboni advertising; and instituting discount pricing for active military and veterans at the Nederland Community Center.

Per Trustee Tania Corvalan’s request, Cain provided the Board with the water and wastewater rates for Estes Park, Fraser, Idaho Springs, and Lyons.

Estes Park has a base fee of $46.67 for residents, plus up to $10.53 for residential usage per 1,000 gallons; Fraser charges residents a quarterly base rate of $153 for water, $137.50 for sewer, with usage rates per 1,000 gallons ranging from $1.50 to $6.00.

Nederland’s proposed residential base and usage rates for 2025 fall about at the average in comparison, with the base rate for water at $15.92, and for sewer at $56.86, and with usage rates per 1,000 gallons ranging from $9.94 to $19.89. 

Trustees had questions about the Nederland Downtown Development Authority’s (NDDA) $912,000 budget for capital improvement projects in 2025, particularly concerning the $120,000 set aside for the Summer Concert Series, and the $25,000 allocated for a website redesign.

NDDA Executive Director Kate Masingale explained that the 2025 Summer Concert Series will be more focused on creating a surge in sales tax revenue, and that the $120,000 budget was to ensure that booking for the 2026 series can begin earlier. 

Masingale also detailed how the new NDDA website would provide ease of access to the Authority’s services, including an updated local business directory, and would provide a user-friendly experience for small business owners looking for resources or to obtain proper licensing.

Proposals should be coming in soon for the NDDA to review. Masingale noted that she has received a range of quotes for the job, from $16,000 to $30,000.   

With Trustees having no suggestions for changes, the draft budget was passed through the public hearing and will go before the BOT one last time during a Special Meeting on December 10 for final approval before adoption.   

The Board heard from Cass Grady, Nederland’s Sustainability Coordinator, regarding the implementation of Ordinance 862. She presented a public outreach plan that is required in order for local businesses to begin imposing a $0.10 Disposable Paper Bag Fee, and then properly collecting that fee and passing it on to the Town of Nederland.  

The ordinance dictates that “food establishments, including farmer’s market vendors and food trucks, and retail stores may not sell or distribute a product in a container that is made of polystyrene products. Food establishments and retail stores also may not distribute plastic bags or paper bags made of less than 40% post-consumer recycled content.

“Retail stores must charge a $0.10 fee for each paper bag that is distributed to a customer. They may retain 40% of the total fees collected and must remit 60% of the total to the Town.”

The public outreach plan, which is intended to educate business owners and residents on the details of the new fees, has been delayed because the position of Sustainability Coordinator has been vacant, causing the Zero Waste Subcommittee and Sustainability Advisory Board (both entities overseeing the implementation of Ordinance 862) not to convene until the position was filled. 

The delay has reportedly cost Nederland potential revenue, as only one business has been correctly collecting, reporting, and providing their fees to the Town since the Ordinance’s implementation in July. The report projects that the Town should expect up to $432 quarterly from the fees. 

Grady provided a timeline for the outreach plan. Businesses will have until April of 2025 to learn how to adhere to Ordinance 862, when proper enforcement of the bag fee will begin.

Corvalan noted that the Smoker Friendly was the only Nederland business following the procedure of reporting and providing the fees to the Town. She then inquired why some businesses, mainly the B&F Mountain Market, were charging bag fees without reporting and paying the Town the proper portion of those fees. 

It was stated that B&F was charging customers their own bag fee, with the proceeds being allocated as charitable donations to local non-profit organizations, including the Nederland Community Center. 

Community Planner Britt DeMinck added that enforcement of Ordinance 862 will begin after the community outreach plan is implemented. 

The BOT also discussed a proposal from Utilities Department Manager Andrew Bliss to allocate that department’s savings in 2024 towards purchasing a dump truck, for no more than $60,000, to be used for hauling biosolids from the Town’s Wastewater Treatment Facility to A1 Organics in Boulder, to be repurposed into compost.

Bliss assured Trustee Kristopher Larsen that no special training was required for hauling Class B biosolids, though he did reiterate that on-call support may be needed, as would a written procedure and staff training on how to properly handle a spill. Bliss added that the Town is liable in the event of a spill, even if that spill was caused by a contracted hauling company. 

The BOT voted to permit Bliss to purchase a dump truck, with an imposed limit of $60,000. 

Trustees voted to approve Resolution 2024-40, executing an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Boulder for the next 10 years to keep effluent phosphorus counts in the Town’s wastewater system below 1.6 mg/L in order to receive a minimum of $35,000 in annual reimbursements from the City, including reimbursements for required equipment.

The Board also approved the Town applying for the Boulder County Environmental Sustainability Grant for $15,000, requiring a match of $3,750 from the Town, to fund the part-time Sustainability Coordinator position through 2025.  

The Nederland Board of Trustees meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 17, 2024, at 7 p.m. and can be attended either online or in person at the Nederland Community Center. 

For more information go to: https://townofnederland.colorado.gov/board-of-trustees.