NEDERLAND — The Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) met on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, to vote on the adoption of Ordinance 885, authorizing the Town—acting as the Mountain Recreation Enterprise—to issue and sell Revenue Bonds in order to finance the acquisition of Eldora Mountain Resort. 

Before the milestone vote, Town Manager Jonathan Cain provided new details on the pending cleanup of the remnants of the Caribou Village Shopping Center, stating that the Town has acquired its demolition permit, and that business owners are expected to be allowed in the next few days to search the wreckage for any belongings. 

Buying Eldora

Ordinance 885 authorizes documentation required for the purchase of the Eldora ski area, including an Indenture of Trust, Bond Purchase Agreement, Deposit Account Control Agreement, Continuing Disclosure Agreement, and a Tax Compliance Certificate.

The Indenture of Trust is the legal agreement that dictates the management of Eldora Mountain Resort’s generated revenue, which is intended to be used for the operation of the resort and for repayment of the revenue bonds. 

The Agenda Information Memorandum (AIM), prepared by Cain, reiterated that the revenue bonds will be repayable “solely from revenues derived from the operation of the Town’s Mountain Recreation Enterprise and will not constitute a general obligation or debt of the Town, nor pledge the Town’s taxing authority.

“The financing structure is designed to support long-term local ownership and stewardship of the Eldora Mountain Resort while maintaining the Enterprise’s financial independence and protecting the Town’s overall fiscal position.”

Under the Indenture of Trust, the financial structure governs how Eldora’s revenue is to be filtered into classified allocations, such as day-to-day operations, ongoing maintenance, capital improvements, and any required debt service or operating reserves. The AIM also mentioned that bond proceeds could be used to fund the purchase of new equipment. 

The Town is also expected to provide the Board with public reports moving forward. These are to include “certain financial reporting,” as well as information regarding the operating standards, regular budgeting requirements, and independent audits conducted for the ski area. 

Revenue allocation

K.C. Veio, the Town’s hired bond counsel, further explained how the revenues of the resort will be funneled to repay the enterprise revenue bonds, and will trickle down, “like a waterfall,” into several different allocations in a prioritized order. 

First, the monthly operating costs are covered, followed by reimbursements to the Town for any administrative costs, taxes, or insurance not covered in the operating costs.

After that, revenues flow into debt service; interest on senior bonds; senior principal; capital maintenance; a stabilization fund; a debt service reserve fund; subordinate bond payments; a subordinate debt service reserve fund; future capital investments; a prepayment account for the debt service reserve fund; a bond redemption fund; and finally, a surplus fund for all remaining revenue. 

There were many questions pertaining to potential “bad snow years,” and what would happen if the Town was unable to fulfill its financial obligations, to which Veio explained that, if the Town were to go into a “technical default,” the bond holders would require the Town to hire consultants in order to find an efficient solution through the use of an established bond trustee, who would hold the fiduciary duty to manage all accounts between the Town and the bond holders. 

Mayor Billy Giblin asked for the specific bond terms that the Board was effectively setting in stone. Veio stated that the maturity of the bonds is not to exceed 40 years, and that the total amount is not to exceed $225 million, which was the amount selected by the underwriters.

Additionally, the interest rates are not to exceed 9%, and the official terms of the bonds are only to be determined by the Mayor or the Mayor Pro Tem, as sale delegates, once the underwriters have put bonds on the market. 

As for the next steps of the Eldora acquisition, Cain noted that issuing the bonds and marketing them will occur next. Town Attorney Jennifer Madsen added that there are still leases to finalize for specific private property, an agreement with Alterra to be completed, and a Special Use Permit with the US Forest Service to be obtained.  

The Board unanimously voted to approve Ordinance 885, authorizing the issuance and sale of Mountain Recreation Enterprise Revenue Bonds, authorizing the Indenture of Trust and all the other related agreements and certificates, and pledging available Mountain Recreation Enterprise revenues for repayment.

The west wing

Town Manager Cain led Trustees in a discussion regarding whether to vacate and abandon the Nederland Community Center’s west wing, or to completely renovate the 12,000 square foot space in order to address fire and life safety concerns. The Town also needs available space in the wake of the Lakeview Fire, which claimed Nederland’s only police substation. 

The Nederland Fire Protection District (NFPD) and Fire Marshal Andrew Joslin have identified many fire and life safety “deficiencies,” from alarm and sprinkler issues to problematic door hardware and egresses, which they state are enough for the west wing to fail its inspection. This would result in the emergency vacating of any tenants, including nonprofits vital to community well-being.  

Trustees were informed that Community Planner Brittany DeMinck and Community Center Manager Dawn Baumhover have already met with NFPD and have created a checklist for the cleanup operation. Dumpsters have been ordered and scheduled, with progress on the cleanup to be carried forward throughout the end of January. 

Town staff recommended that the Board consider fully renovating the west wing and bringing it to compliance, though Trustees were also given the options to address only a portion of the issues involved with the wing, or to just vacate the wing and consider demolition and renovation at a later date.  

Addressing the option to move to renovate in 2026, Cain detailed how the Town is actively researching financing avenues for the project, including an Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), which could award up to $1 million in funding, while requiring up to 25% of that amount as a match. 

Trustee Luke Miller inquired as to what the potential grant would cover, specifically indicating the parking lot immediately outside the wing in question. Cain stated that, if the Town were to be awarded the full $1 million grant, the parking lot may very well be included in their redevelopment plans, though it was noted that the community center still required more roof work. 

Mayor Pro Tem Nichole Sterling asked if asbestos was a concern, to which Cain answered that asbestos was used at the time the building was constructed, and that it could be found surrounding the old heating ducts. Cain specified that a method of “encapsulation” may be used on the asbestos, rather than the costly process of removal. 

After some discussion about where in Nederland the new Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) substation is expected to be located, given that the old substation was destroyed in the Lakeview Fire, and that the Town is contractually obligated to provide that space, most Trustees agreed that Town staff should pursue the DOLA grant and plan to have the west wing fully remodeled to be compliant.   

Law enforcement and co-responder

The BOT also voted to approve two important resolutions, one for 2026 contracts with BCSO for co-responder services as well as general law enforcement coverage. 

Resolution 2026-03 authorizes the Town’s entry into an Intergovernmental Agreement with BCSO for co-responder services, which are to be managed under a 2026 Statement of Work (SOW) which details the scope of services expected to be provided for a proposed “four-year period of performance from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2029, with budgets adopted annually and incorporated by exhibit.” 

According to the SOW, a co-responder, defined as a behavioral health specialist, is expected to provide scene assessments and support when accompanying BCSO Deputies to “calls for service that may involve mental health, substance use, death of a loved one, or some type of crisis.”

The Town will be hiring one full-time co-responder to work with local BCSO responders from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

The position will pay an estimated $92,036.51 for the initial year. Adding $34,973.87 for employee benefits and $3,451 in operating expenses, the total cost to the Town for the first year of the co-responder program will be $130,461.38. 

Resolution 2026-04 approves the 2026 adopted budget of $931,629 for law enforcement coverage—involving the employment of four Deputies, one half-time Detective, and limited Animal Control—for the Town of Nederland to December 31, 2026.

The Nederland Board of Trustees meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 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.