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The BOT’s 18-month strategy for Nederland

Christopher Kelley
Posted 7/27/23

On April 15, 2023, the Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) met with Chris LeMay, Nederland’s Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) representative, for the first of three work sessions centered on

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The BOT’s 18-month strategy for Nederland

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On April 15, 2023, the Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) met with Chris LeMay, Nederland’s Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) representative, for the first of three work sessions centered on developing a list of prioritized goals for both the BOT and Town staff to focus on through 2024.

In what some tenured municipal employees of Nederland called “a historical first,” the Town’s Department Heads were invited by the BOT to participate in two of the three work sessions, held on May 24 and June 23, to engage in the collaborative effort which resulted in the creation of a five-page document dubbed the Town of Nederland Strategic Plan 2023 - 2024.

On July 18, Town Administrator Dr. Miranda Fisher led the BOT in a discussion involving the Strategic Plan, looking for Trustee feedback before the plan returns to their agenda for final review and vote. The plan lists six objectives, outlining a focus to “stabilize, plan, and grow revenue” over the next 18 months, with each objective to be approached “with a commitment to public engagement and sustainability.”

Objective #1: “Foster a strong organizational culture where Town employees are valued and the Town is an employer of choice.”

The stages suggested for the first objective are, first, to bring every Town employee to their minimum salary or hourly rate by January 2024, and then to create a professional development plan to outline the necessary training and certificates required in order to “advance each employee’s knowledge, skills, and abilities in their respective roles.”

This objective is already underway, as the BOT are seemingly in agreement to approve a 2023 Supplemental Budget, based on the results of a Compensation Study completed in early July 2023, which partially accounts for the $209,487.14 variance between the current salaries offered to municipal employees in Nederland and the minimum standard according to the Colorado average.

The Compensation Study also provided a Certification Chart, which is a roadmap for Nederland’s Public Works employees for the training and certification required to move from an entry-level position into a supervisory or leadership role in the Parks, Streets, or Utilities departments.

Objective #2: “Protect the Town’s water rights ensuring the delivery of water to residents and businesses is continuous.”

The Town plans to fulfill the goal of this objective by continuing development of the Nederland Reservoir water rights by filing an application for a finding of reasonable diligence for the water rights in Water Court by February 2024.

The plan also specifies continuing the evaluation of alternative water storage locations, and also pursuing any engineering and design permits necessary for constructing upstream water storage. Such storage is seen as an important objective in “fortifying the Town’s water rights, water delivery infrastructure, and a safe and resilient water supply.”

Objective #3: “Promote orderly, sustainable and resilient development in the Town through thoughtful, engaged and equitable planning processes.”

In order to fulfill the third objective, the Comprehensive Plan update must be completed by December 2024 to “establish a long-range guiding document for Nederland.”

The Multimodal Transportation Plan must be completed by April 2024 to “create an equitable transportation system that incorporates all modes of transportation,” and directly affects segments of Objective #4 of the Strategic Plan.

The Parks, Recreation, Open Space, and Trails Plan amendments must be completed by December 2024 to “update the community’s goals related to the Parks Department assets.”

The Housing Needs Assessment must be completed by December 2023 to “understand the housing needs for Nederland,” which also directly affects Objective #6.

The Tourism Management Marketing & Branding Strategy Project must be completed by April 2024 to “help locals communicate to existing tourists about our identity and how Nederland wants to be treated.”

The Big Springs Egress Study must be completed by December 2024, in order to ascertain the best options for an emergency egress route out of the Big Springs neighborhood.

A Professional Rate Study needs to be completed by August 2024 to “revise water and sewer rates and plant investment fees,” which directly affects parts of Objective #5.

Objective #4: “Continue modernizing the Town’s infrastructure to reduce public safety risks, promote economic growth and improve the quality of life for our residents.”

The stages suggested in the plan to achieve success in the fourth objective begin with the Streets Department and Nederland’s streets infrastructure.

The Visitors Center parking lot is expected to be paved by the end of August of this year, as is Big Springs Drive up to the switchback. Bike racks will be installed at the Visitors Center parking lot in September 2024, and a dual high-speed Level III EV charging station will be installed by June 2024

Within the Safer Main Streets grant, a pedestrian crossing is to be installed at East 1st Street and Highway 119; a crosswalk with a signal will be installed between the RTD Park-n-Ride and the Nederland Community Library; and the crusher fine sidewalks alongside the north side of Highway 119 will be replaced – all by October 2024.

A contractor to complete these crosswalk and sidewalk improvements will be secured by April 2024; all projects within the Safer Main Streets grant are expected to be completed by June 2025.

The Transportation Improvement Project is also expected to be completed by June 2025, and involves the creation of sidewalks on West 1st Street, connecting the RTD Park-n-Ride to the Visitors Center, and on North Jefferson Street. The sidewalk construction is expected to be completed by October 2024, while the paving of North Jefferson Street will be completed by June 2025.

The Streets Department is expected to develop an “asset management plan” by January 2024 that will provide maintenance techniques to be used for each specific issue affecting every Nederland road, pertaining specifically to signs of erosion, rutting, potholes, and improper drainage.

As per the Streets Department’s “Summer Road Improvement Plan,” the construction of drainage ditches among town roads, the application of aggregate to the roads to “ensure stable foundation, create a strong, durable surface, and reduce the potential of erosion, rutting, and potholes,” and the identification of funding for the installation of resident driveway culverts where necessary, are all expected to be completed by September 2024.

The next stage of Objective #4 in the Strategic Plan involves Emergency Preparedness. An Emergency Operations Plan is expected to be completed by December 2023; $10,000 will be allocated as a special line item in the 2024 Town Budget to educate residents about emergency and disaster preparedness; and information concerning tax incentives and about Boulder County’s Wildfire Partners program (which concerns funding to have fire mitigation conducted on homeowners’ properties) will be sent to homeowners through to April, 2024.

$875,000 is expected to be allocated on the 2024 Town Budget as matching funds for a possible grant to fund the $3.5 million project of designing and constructing a second bridge across Middle Boulder Creek to “provide an alternative safety egress during an emergency evacuation.”

The next stage involves the implementation of a new Geographic Information System program, new work order management program, and a new asset management program by January 2024, and a new management system for Emergency Services and Public Works by December 2024.

For the Parks Department, the beautification of Barker Meadows Park, covered by the Great Outdoors Colorado Resilient Communities Program grant, along with the reseeding of Guercio Field, are expected to be completed by September 2023. Funding for the design and redevelopment of the NedRINK ice rink and tennis courts is expected to be secured by June 2024. And funding to upgrade Chipeta Park’s playground to be more ADA-compliant is expected to be secured by October 2024.

A line item in the 2024 Town Budget will be added to include funds to cover the maintenance needs of the Town Hall. The Town of Nederland hopes for the Town Hall to be eligible for a historical building designation, so grant funding could potentially be gained by January 2024 to cover building repairs. The maintenance needs of the Town Hall are stated to be addressed by September 2024.

The final stage of Objective #4 involves the Town of Nederland collaborating with Clear Creek County and Gilpin County to hire a consultant to develop a broadband extension plan and provide funding opportunities for “middle mile” broadband services. A third-party consultant is expected to be contracted by October 2023.

Objective #5: “Augment and leverage the Town’s financial resources to support desired levels of services and to ensure upkeep of the Town’s infrastructure.”

The Strategic Plan asked Trustees to “review, evaluate, and choose three opportunities for additional financial resources” by October 2023. The list of potential opportunities includes paid parking, EV charging fees, parks and recreation participant fees, franchise agreements with private utilities for use of Town’s rights-of-way, increased water and wastewater user rates as well as wastewater plant investment fees, maximizing tourism, pursuing grants, and the promotion of special events and advertising opportunities.

Objective #6: “Listen to the voices of our workers and residents and implement changes to the Nederland Municipal Code from the results of the Housing Needs Assessment.”

The stages suggested in the plan to achieve success in the final objective include identifying the “most impactful” changes to Nederland Municipal Code (NMC), as provided in the completed Housing Needs Assessment, by September 2023; drafting the policy language for the BOT to review by October 2023; establishing the code changes by December 2023; and applying for grants to fund the development of housing infrastructure as indicated from the Housing Needs Assessment, by June 2024.

The Town of Nederland Strategic Plan 2023 - 2024 is essentially a linchpin for what has been described by Fisher as a “year of stabilization” needed to focus on completing current capital improvement projects and on improving revenue gain for the Town.

The plan overall details 26 pending projects, seven of which still require funding to be secured, with some projects not expected to be completed until as late as June 2025. A total of four “Studies” and seven “Plans” are to be completed in 2023 and 2024, many of which are necessary in order for pending projects to be authorized.

Funding to budget these plans, studies, and pending projects have, on at least nine occasions, come from various outside sources, such as the Denver Regional Council of Governments, CDOT, DOLA, and Congressionally Directed Spending, totalling up to $1,812,725, with the biggest portion of that total from the $699,725 budget for the Big Springs Egress Study.

“The point is to celebrate those successes once we start knocking these things off and to be able to tell the public ‘we said we were going to do this and we did it,’” said Trustee Nichole Sterling, who assisted in the drafting of the Strategic Plan, during discussion of the plan at the BOT meeting on July 18,

Trustee Tania Corvalan raised concerns about certain issues not being addressed in the Strategic Plan, such as planning parking spaces at Fisherman’s Lot and fixing discrepancies and inconsistencies in NMC. Corvalan expressed worry that such important projects may fall to the wayside over the next 18 months if those projects are not listed in the Strategic Plan.

The Fisherman’s Lot Wetlands Creation Project is underway, with the Town of Nederland expected to assist in creating seven parking spaces at the entrance of the lot. Parking initiatives are not expected to begin until the Multimodal Transportation Plan is completed by April 2024.

Changes to NMC are expected to be made after the drafting of, and discussions surrounding, the update to the Comprehensive Plan, which is listed on the Strategic Plan as a top priority under Objective #3.

Parks Manager Nicki Dunn was present for the July 18 meeting and spoke to the question of projects not included on the Strategic Plan. “The way we set it up is, we set it up for success, so as we check off each box we can add more. But the idea of it is to be able to check boxes before we start piling on top,” Dunn said.

Mayor Billy Giblin expressed his belief that the secondary bridge project may not be a priority. The project is estimated, by engineering consultants JVA, to cost $3.5 million, with the Town expecting to provide a match of at least $875,000. Fisher stated that the hope is for the project to be selected for Congressional Directed Spending, and reiterated that a commitment is preferred, hence adding a line item for the 25% matching funds on the 2024 Town Budget.

Public comment, sent in an email to the BOT by Brian Smith, specified a desire for the Town to prioritize funds to the Big Springs Egress project as opposed to the second bridge.

“In the summer 2022 special meeting regarding the Big Springs egress, a major point that multiple trustees raised was the fact that in order to build the Egress Route in Big Springs there would need to be matching funds by the town, and that the town did not have these funds,” Smith’s letter read.

“I would love to see some steps towards raising funds for that effort instead of a second bridge so that when the egress study is complete we can move right into building the egress. Since Big Springs is the highest concentrated population center in town it would seem that it is more important to get Big Springs residents out versus building a second bridge.”

Smith’s letter also lamented that the Strategic Plan is missing any action on strengthening regulations for Short Term Rentals and on bolstering enforcement efforts of such regulations.

“Anecdotally, I am aware of a few houses in Big Springs that are used full-time as AirBnBs and owners live either out of state or in Denver/Boulder. I know that there is a lot of discussion that needs to happen around how to control AirBnBs appropriately – in the interim, I would love to see the BOT vote on an AirBnB license moratorium until the STR guidelines can be updated in accordance with the results of the housing study.”

Corvalan expressed issues with the language used in Objective #3 concerning the Tourism Management Marketing & Branding Strategy Project. The issue was with the quote: “to help locals communicate to existing tourists about our identity and how Nederland wants to be treated.”

Nederland’s Public Engagement Manager Peter Cacek acknowledged that the message of focusing more on education and management of the tourists coming into town, rather than the promotion of more tourism, was being lost in translation.

“I think focusing on the education side is probably a better way to word that. I see a lot of confusion about what our goal is, so I think the wording needs to be refined a bit,” Cacek said.

Former Trustee and Nederland resident Karen Blakemore also wrote to the BOT concerning the Town’s focus on tourism.

“I am not in favor of pursuing additional tourism grants nor adding a line item to the budget for tourism,” Blakemore’s letter of Public Comment read. “I would like to see the Town government focus on the needs and desires of residents rather than tourists. Tourism is more the purview of a Chamber of Commerce and we have a newly formed one in the Peak-to-Peak Chamber of Commerce.”

Trustee Jesse Seavers specified how he would like to see a repeat of the Board’s goal-planning sessions every year. He also wanted to refine the process from the early discussion stages to approval of the drafted plan. Seavers also expressed a wish to receive periodic updates on the progress of the objectives within the Strategic Plan, to which Sterling noted that monthly Town Staff Reports will include such updates.

“[They] will mirror what’s in these goals, that will be an ongoing request. Their goals are our goals and they have to update on that,” Sterling said.

“And if there was to be something new that was brought forward in the AIM it’s clear how it ties to the strategic plan,” Fisher added.

Though Mayor Giblin wanted to extend the discussion and not vote on final approval of the Strategic Plan until August 15, the majority of Trustees believed that the proposed changes to the plan, mainly the language pertaining to the goals of tourism initiatives, changes to NMC, and a plan to implement parking at Fisherman’s Lot, could be made in time for final vote during their next meeting on Tuesday, August 1, 2023, at 7 p.m.