John Scarffe, Nederland. The Nederland Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors approved applying for a Safer Streets grant and an Owner’s Project Requirements for a Transportation Improvement Program during a regular online meeting on Wednesday, August 12, 2020, at 6 p.m. The NDDA Board also approved a parking plan on Big Springs and agreed to hire an accounting firm. 

Nederland Public Works Manager Chris Pelletier said staff would like to submit a grant administered by the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) for a Safer Main Streets Initiative grant. It promotes pedestrian safety and alternative transportation.

“Staff receives community input every year regarding crosswalk safety in town and excessive speeds on the highway,” according to the agenda information memo. Additionally, the sidewalk on the north side of Highway 72 is not ADA compliant. 

The proposed projects for the grant funds would improve existing soil sidewalks on the Peak to Peak Highway 72, add improved pedestrian crossing at First Street and Highway 119, add improved pedestrian crossing at the Library pedestrian crossing at Peak to Peak Highway 72 and install traffic calming components to reduce speeds.

These items align with the intent of the grant funds while also aligning with the NDDA’s Master Plan for priority improvements in the Downtown District. Crosswalks have been identified as an area of improvement, according to the memo.

Town staff presented the proposed project to the Nederland Board of Trustees at the August 4, 2020, meeting and gained unanimous support for the project and for making a request to the NDDA for financial support, according to the memo. The Ned Peds Project was originally designed to have a solid paver surface. “These funds will hopefully restore the original intent of the project.” 

Staff would like to submit an application for the amount of $350,000 with a 20 percent required match. Staff requested that the NDDA support the required match of $70,000 for this project. The proposed budget would be the crosswalk at Highway 72 and the Library for $100,000, the crosswalk at First Street and Highway 119 for $100,000, sidewalk ADA improvements for $80,000, traffic calming for $20,000, and engineering and construction administration for $50,000.

Pelletier said Nederland is in Region 4 and is eligible for the funds. The grant application would be due Friday, August 14, and awarded in September. It is a small but impactful project for a small amount of money, based on community input and safety. 

They hope to make it easier to delineate the sidewalks with a change of material. They could have pavers and calming devices and resurface the sidewalk by the Tungsten Village. Right now, it is soil and not great for pedestrians. This project would have good continuity with the Transportation Improvement Project (TIP). The Town doesn’t have the funds to match the grant.

Staff recommended applying for these funds and making these improvements for visitors of the area. Board of Trustees Liaison Jonathan Baumhover said a $70,000 match would move this project forward, piggy back on the Jefferson Street TIP project and managing to fix everything at once. 

He has heard comments against flashing lights because of night skies, but he is in support of the project, and staff did an amazing job to get this done in one big swoop. Board Chair Steve Karowe asked if the Board votes to approve going forward, would the match be 20 percent. Pelletier said DRCOG could award less or more. If it’s less, the NDDA would only pay the 20 percent. 

Board members thought it was a wonderful idea and supported it. They approved funding the match at 20 percent.

Pelletier presented a request to review the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR) for the TIP project. Nederland was awarded $1.5 million for the TIP program in September 2019. The project consists of a multi-modal sidewalk from Town Hall to the RTD Park-n-Ride and on Jefferson Street in front of Kathmandu, according to the memo. 

The project, a collaboration with the NDDA, will also include electric charging stations and bike racks. Staff has been following the guidelines of Nederland’s Planning Process and has given presentations and received feedback from the Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Advisory Board (PROSAB), the Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) and the Planning Commission as part of the proposal phase. Suggestions from the Boards have been incorporated into the OPR. 

Staff was looking for direction from the Board to satisfy the collaboration portion of the Nederland Planning Process and ultimately come back for the final approval phase of the project and process. On February 13, 2019, the NDDA Board approved Staff’s application for TIP and agreed to fund an additional $69,000.

On February 16, 2019, the Board approved the application for TIP funding for Staff’s conceptual project, and on May 15, 2019, the NDDA voted to approve an additional $70,000 for a total of $139,000 to fund the TIP project. On February 4, 2020, the Board of Trustees voted to approve the Intergovernmental Agreement with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for the TIP project.

On June 24, 2020, Trustees approved releasing the task order to Town Engineers JVA for a proposal to design and manage the project. Staff also received notice to proceed from CDOT.

Pelletier said he had a meeting with CDOT today, and the point about wayfinding can be included in this plan. PROSAB wants a kiosk for pedestrian information. 

The project scored well on a sustainability score sheet, and suggestions for improvements included storm water mitigation, wayfinding and curb extensions. The Planning Commission weighed in with traffic flow and parking integrated into this. 

Pelletier said the Trustees were in full support, but he wanted to bring this to the NDDA Board to get further feedback and incorporate their goals and values. Board members were in favor of the project, and Pelletier said he will bring a resolution back to the Board.

Board Members Andrew Dewalt and Ron Mitchell presented a proposal for parking on Big Springs. The NDDA Parking Committee reviewed parking exhibits and parking cost options created by JVA for the Big Springs, Conger and Lakeview parking project. The Committee determined that Option 2, which develops parking on Big Springs, as the option that would benefit NDDA constituents.

The Parking Committee met with the Town Administrator and Public Works Manager to update them on their recommendation. The Parking Committee also met with Nathan Skalak of JVA and Stephanie Wirth of Tebow, who owns the Caribou Shopping Center, to discuss potential overlaps between the NDDA project and Tebo’s parking lot project, according to the memo.

Skalak amended Exhibit 2 and its corresponding pricing to reflect the Parking Committee’s recommendation to the NDDA board for approval. The Parking Committee presented the Big Springs Project to the Board of Trustees on July 21.2020, and the Trustees requested that the Parking Committee bring a completed project back for approval. The Trustees did not feel the budget and the project were clear.

The Parking Committee asked if the NDDA Board approved the Parking Committee’s clarified project and the Request for Project bids. Mitchell said they did in-depth research for a simple project for improvements on the south side of Big Springs Drive.

They would include perpendicular parking spaces, a six-foot sidewalk and drainage underneath. Two adjacent property owners will agree to share a driveway, which eliminates a dangerous intersection and allows extra parking spaces on the street and off. Drainage would be 40 percent of the project, the sidewalk 30 percent and parking the rest of the cost.

The Board of Trustees wanted more detail, Dewalt said, so they are proposing a survey be done. Mitchell said this is a very simple project, and he doesn’t want to get it too complicated, but the survey needs to be done. 

“We would do the survey and need funds to do it,” Mitchell said, “and then all the bidders know what we are looking at.” He asked the Board if anything was out of order or out of line, and asked for $225,000 for the topographical survey. They have met with Public Works, and Chris Pelletier’s projections are included. 

Mitchell said they will submit the bids, and the committee will get them a month ahead of time. They will be lucky to get five or six bids. The Board agreed to move ahead with the project, and Town Administrator Karen Gerrity said she will draft a resolution to approve the survey, if she can get NDDA approval tonight for $5,000, $3,000 for the survey and $2,000 for the RFP. 

She can do the resolution and word it so they will put out the RFP for at least three bids. It can then go to the Board of Trustees to borrow the funds. 

Mitchell moved to present to the Board of Trustees a request for $225.000 for proposals regarding topographical land surveys and presenting the Trustees with an RFP for a new concept request for parking, infrastructure and drainage and an advance of $10,000 for a survey and related expenses. Gerrity said she will run this by the mayor to add to a Trustees meeting agenda, probably in September.

The Board approved the motion, with Mitchell abstaining. The Board approved hiring a local accountant. Town Treasurer Jennifer Hagey had been providing accounting services for the NDDA, but she resigned, so it’s an opportunity to engage a local account, Tanner D’Alessandro, who could do bookkeeping for $25 a month and Treasurer Mitchell would be happy to have that.

The next meeting of the NDDA Board of Directors will be on September 9, 2020.

(Originally published in the August 20, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)