Karen Gerrity, Nederland Town Administrator. Many of you may be asking yourselves what is going on at Town Hall now that municipal facilities are closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff is providing many services and connecting with area residents and business owners via email, phone calls, and in some cases video conferences. Onsite shifts have been staggered and many team members are working from home at least half-time to abide by social distancing protocols. The Town Hall team worked closely with the IT consultant to set up work stations at home as needed. Here are some highlights from the past six weeks.

Town Administrator’s Office

Working with Town department heads and the Boulder County Office of Emergency Management, created a Tiered COVID-19 Response Plan for Nederland which was presented to the Board of Trustees on March 17, Check out https://nederlandco.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/20467?preview=20471 

Participates on the Agency Administrators team to direct policy-making for the Boulder Area Coordination and Management Center which was established at the front of the pandemic and has been in operations since March 18.

Initiated a furlough program for non-essential staff and a hiring freeze in late March.

Attends weekly conference calls with the Peak to Peak Health and Human Services Alliance to assess the need of area residents and share information and collaborate on relief programs. 

Worked closely with each department to create contingency budgets to account for the loss in sales tax and earned revenue due to the pandemic.

Established an internal Recovery and Resiliency Team with a goal to share resources, identify assets, create communications structures and a road map under different scenarios which will be needed to get the Town up and running. 

Town Clerk’s Office 

Created a COVID-19 link on the Town’s website and updates regularly so area residents and businesses have up to date information https://nederlandco.org/covid-19-information/ 

Conducted the April 7 election and is now onboarding the newly elected officials.

Worked with legal counsel to create ordinances allowing for virtual meetings for boards and commissions.

Established virtual platforms and hosts boards and commissions meeting, assisting members and the public with technological challenges.

Seeking funding sources to offset the deficit in operations during the pandemic.

Continues to process applications for business, liquor, marijuana and STR licenses.

Town Treasurer’s Office

Worked with Town Administrator and Department Heads in creating contingency budgets to reflect projected decrease in sales tax and earned revenue.

Oversees accounts payable and receivable. 

Facilitating the annual audit which began on April 20, 2020.

Tracking and monitoring monthly financial transactions. 

Building and Planning Office

Processing building permits as allowed by state order.

Processing land use applications. 

Working with the Nederland Fire Protection District on inspections. 

Preparing documents and clerking for the Planning Commission.

Reorganizing and restoring decades worth of building and planning documents.

This is a summary and not meant to include all the activities taking place at Town Hall. If you are seeking assistance, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 303.258.3266 and you can find all our extensions and email addresses here: https://nederlandco.org/government/town-hall/

To stay on top of what is happening at Town Hall as well as in the Police Department, Public Works divisions, and at the Community Center please listen in during Board of Trustees Meetings or read the packets which include monthly staff reports during the second meetings of the month. The most recent packet and staff reports can be found here: https://nederlandco.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=287

(Originally published in the April 30, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)