John Scarffe, Nederland.  The Nederland Downtown Development Authority Board discussed improvements to the intersection of Lakeview Drive and Highways 119 and 72, as well as paid parking in the Visitor Center Parking Lot and along First Street during a regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, August 8, 2018, at the Nederland Community Center. The board also discussed town marketing and the Riverwalk Preliminary Planning and Design.

At the July 11, 2018, NDDA Board meeting, the board determined that a special ad hoc committee should be created to address the intersection at Lakeview Drive and Highways 119 and 72. This intersection has been a priority of the NDDA for the past several years, with a 2014 quote and design provided by Town Engineers JVA, and inclusion in the 2017 Master Plan.

NDDA Executive Director Josiah Masingale said that a couple of folks on the ad hoc committee found an old quote from JVA, so he wanted to open a discussion on the next steps. Board Member Mark Stringfellow and Nederland Public Works Manager Chris Pelletier went to look at Lakeview Dr. and Highway 119 with Masingale.

“That’s where we will start on this project,” Masingale said. Board Member Steven Karowe said he also considered options such as putting in turning lanes and letting traffic flow through better than it currently does.

Move the curb back first and then phase in the new lanes over the next couple of years, Karowe said. The real problem is on the highway. It might impact having a left-hand turn lane off both of those streets.

It would use the same space for cars to go around. “I feel strongly that’s the biggest problem the town faces,” Karowe said.

Pelletier said to go for the low hanging fruit. Having to get a car to go across a left-hand lane will make it more difficult [turning left from the side streets on to the highway].

Trustee Liaison Dallas Masters said that it’s complicated, but it has been suggested that the big priority is actually on a state highway. Is there a mechanism for asking the state to do certain projects and then work out a design with our own engineering and figure out how much it will take to pay for it and line it up for two years from now?

Town Administrator Karen Gerrity said the Town has talked about that area, and meetings take place twice a year in which one representative from each municipality can attend, and that’s when municipalities have an opportunity to see the projects they want to address. We’re now talking about 2021.

Representatives from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) came and talked to Town staff, and they resurfaced the bridge, Gerrity said. “We plan to be at the table, and it would be good to have a priority list from you when I go.”

Pelletier said staff can look at grants again. They are just asking CDOT to approve the design, but once they get into the highway, it would be more difficult. Gerrity said this could potentially be a sub-regional Tip project.

Those funds become available after regional projects are funded.

They highly favor collaborative projects. It is a long process, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t look at that, Gerrity said. It would delay this project, and that could be the town’s match, which would leverage those dollars and hopefully CDOT would include some money.

Masters suggested trying to do our own engineering now, such as where sidewalks are located. He would like to see the NDDA continue this project, make sure the engineering adheres to state requirements and take a long view of what we want the state to do.

Stringfellow suggested doing a traffic study. Can we go to CDOT and get their guidance, develop a master plan for the whole area and then start implementing it?

Gerrity said the Town could possibly get a free traffic study done, and Stringfellow said he will contact CDOT. That gets buy in from CDOT and may have a better chance for funding. That whole corridor has been surveyed multiple times.

Pelletier said he will look at what he has. Masingale asked for discussion regarding paid parking at the Visitor Center and along First Street.

Parking in all areas of downtown was prioritized in the 2017 Master Plan, with potential paid parking along the First Street corridor as a recommended project to consider. Non-turnover of parked vehicles in the Visitor Center Parking Lot and along First Street is considered by some NDDA constituents to be a major issue that the NDDA should address; any such project should take into consideration feedback from the local business owners, states background.

Masingale said the surveys show mixed reactions. Some people just want to run a quick errand and don’t want to pay for parking. Masters said there is a cost to parking. It’s what the town needs and is a source of revenue.
The Town can’t pay for maintaining roads, and Masters would love to see this source of revenue. Parking shouldn’t be free, he said. In France, the locals have a disk they put on their dashboard.

“It’s putting payment on the back of visitors, and I don’t think visitors have any issues with that. Do it in places near downtown. We should have more on-street parking -- all the way down to the reservoir, parking could be delineated,” Masters said.

Stringfellow said it will help the businesses on First Street too. He will pursue this economic development and will work with Masters to integrate in a disk. Board Chair Susan Schneider said they don’t want to allow locals to park anywhere for any length of time.

Board Member Claudia Schauffler said she thinks the Town will need enforcement for the locals. Karowe suggested having some designated spots for 30 minute free parking.

Gerrity said that the NDDA would be taking on the expense and would hope to recover that. Stringfellow said that the DDA is looking for sustainable revenue. “We can plan that, and the revenue goes into the downtown area,” he said.

Masingale suggested advertising in the Discover Nederland Guide, which is published and distributed locally to educate visitors on the Nederland area and its businesses and amenities. The publication has options for the NDDA to market the downtown area through advertising and additional print runs that can be distributed by the NDDA in key strategic locations outside of Nederland.

In addition to the guide, Masingale told the Board he wanted to lead them into a technical assistance grant of $10,000, which is available. The grant could assist in branding and a more formal marketing plan.

Schauffler said she thinks branding is huge, but Schneider said we already have enough visitors and problems with parking and getting through town in heavy traffic times. It could be beneficial to market the fact that there is parking here.

Make sure they have that information before they even drive into the area, Schneider said. “We want them to have more sales and make more many. Does that involve bringing more people to town?

Schauffler said that she’s not making any money at her store, and the Candy Man above her store closed. “I think we need more marketing. Mountain man is barely making it.”

Schneider said that if visitors come into town knowing what’s here, they might stay longer. Schauffler said that 50 percent of the people don’t know the Carousel is there.

Masters said: “I’m not a fan of the DDA playing the role of a chamber of commerce, and I said that to [Former NDDA Board Chair] Katrina Harms. A paper publication doesn’t buy us that much. Most of it is online.”

Masingale asked, what about the technical assistance grant to talk about branding? Schauffler said the NDDA could spearhead it and then turn it over to the businesses. Schneider said that a grant would give us some other ideas about marketing the Town and a consultant who would be willing to sit with businesses too.

Masters said: “I think it would be okay for the DDA to go on a branding effort and actually do something. We don’t do that much cooperative marketing with Eldora, and I have asked management if we could use their stuff and make it look like we were working together with them.”

Schneider said that a grant is a positive idea and it should be strongly encouraged for the businesses to participate, but we’re going to let this go at this time.

The Board discussed progress toward the Riverwalk Preliminary Design. At the June 11 meeting, The Board provided guidance regarding next steps on the potential Riverwalk Preliminary Design project, including writing a letter to all property owners directly adjacent to the creek asking for their commitment to participate in this initial step in engaging the community on a preliminary design.

The letter received three positive responses of the 12 sent, with one additional verbal positive response. The Board also requested that the Mountain People’s Co-Op be approached specifically about the project to request its Board’s formal commitment to participate in the preliminary design phase.

Masingale attended the Mountain People’s Co-Op July 16, 2018 Board Meeting to discuss the potential project and answer questions. Following up on that meeting, the Mountain People’s Co-Op Board sent an email to DDA Board Member Rea Orthner, who authored the 2016 Wetland and Riparian Habitat Assessment of the creek corridor, with some follow-up questions, which specifically cited the 2016 study. Orthner, owner of Peak Ecological Services, answered as author of the study.

Masingale told the board that 12 letters were sent. The Co-Op had a major concern, and board members are against it due to environmental concerns, such as protecting the corridor and the wetlands.

“That’s going to be one of our greatest priorities, and we need to reiterate that,” Masingale said. Some people on the board think the project could facilitate their businesses.

Karowe said he doesn’t want to turn Nederland into Estes Park. Stringfellow said that the Town is a property owner upstream. The edge of the wetlands is not a problem. All the landowners are okay except the Co-Op.

“I’m happy at some point to just go around and talk to those folks. We need to get permission from the Co-Op,” Stringfellow said. There’s an existing easement from the bridge down to James Peak. Can we put the trail on top of the utility easement?

Masingale suggested writing another letter to the Co-Op and with a mitigation plan and strong language that includes protections. Stringfellow agrees that is a good idea.

Schneider said the Town must protect the environment or people will have no reason to come here. Masingale said he will write the letter, give them a week and then ask for a meeting.

(Originally published in the August 23, 2018, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)