The Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) met on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, at 7 p.m. to finalize the 2024 Town Budget. The BOT also viewed results from Godot Communications concerning Nederland’s branding identity.

After an executive session held before the meeting at 6 p.m. for “a discussion of a personnel matter involving the evaluation of the Town Administrator, who has consented to the executive session, and the negotiations of an employment agreement with the Town Administrator,” Trustees approved an amendment to the Town Administrator’s Employment Agreement.

All uses of the word “termination” were replaced with “separation,” a provision was added to Section IV(a) specifying that separation may occur if a majority of Trustees votes not to reappoint the current Town Administrator, and Section IV(e) was drafted to determine the Administrator’s compensation in the result of separation.

The BOT approved authorizing Mayor Billy Giblin to sign a contract agreement with All Mountain Technologies for IT services, assisting the Town’s transition to utilizing Microsoft Office 365 software and providing the Managed Services IT program for $2,200 a month.

On December 19, 2023, when voting to approve Ordinance 840, amending Nederland Municipal Code (NMC) regarding municipal elections, Trustees requested removing language pertaining to a requirement for an affidavit of intent for write-in candidates, and permitting the Town Clerk to cancel elections under certain circumstances. Removing such language from NMC repeals Ordinance 729, which despite being adopted by a previous Board, was never codified within NMC.

The BOT approved Resolution 2024-06, officially stating their intent that by adopting Ordinance 840 they are automatically repealing Ordinance 729.

The Board also approved Resolution 2023-04, permitting the Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) to appoint “environmental guardians,” who speak for the Rights of Nature at local government meetings and hearings that involve the surrounding ecosystem. Guardians would also maintain contact with entities who have jurisdiction over matters concerning Nederland’s ecosystem.

The Rights of Nature resolution was adopted by Nederland on July 6, 2021, and gives “fundamental and inalienable rights” to its 448-square mile watershed, and was instituted as a measure of protection for the town’s ecosystem.

Mayor Giblin worked with Attorney Jennifer Madsen to develop changes to the resolution concerning guidelines and standards for the environmental guardians as to how they represent the Town of Nederland, as well as a proper vetting process and assurance that guardians exist in an advisory capacity only, with no power to override the BOT in making actionable decisions.

Town Clerk Macy Caligaris led Trustees in an informational update concerning the upcoming April 2, 2024, municipal election.

Nomination petitions for the three open Trustee positions and for the Mayoral position were released at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, January 2, with a deadline of 6 p.m. on Monday, January 22.

For more information regarding Nederland’s recent history with municipal elections and Trustee vacancies, and to learn how current officials and town residents feel about running for public service, please look for a feature article in this edition of The Mountain-Ear.

The BOT were tasked with voting on final approval of the 2024 Town Budget, which requires approval of four separate resolutions. Resolution 2024-02 adopts the budget, Resolution 2024-03 sets the mill levies, 2024-04 sets the fees for the Town’s licenses, permits, and services, and 2024-05 allocates 51% of the Lodging Occupation Tax Revenue to be transferred to the Health and Human Services Fund and 49% to stay in the General Fund to be allocated for law enforcement costs.

Trustee Eric Coombs-Esmail polled the Board as to whether there were a majority of Trustees interested in reassessing how much extra duty law enforcement coverage is being provided. Coombs-Esmail expressed wanting to scale back or institute a cap on how much extra duty is being paid out, so as not to overspend on an already stretched budget.

Sergeant Asa Mirriam discussed the numbers for December in relation to extra duty shifts of Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) deputies and the revenue collected from speed tickets issued on Highway 119.

A total of 69 hours across 18 shifts were worked throughout December, totalling 95 hours including travel mileage payout, at an estimated $85 an hour. A total of $23,100 was collected from speeding tickets, creating a total $13,219 in revenue for the Town, after the cost of the extra duty shifts.

Sergeant Mirriam offered estimated numbers for January, based on the 22 extra duty shifts that have already been allocated. An assumed 176 citations would create $29,000 in overall revenue, before pay out to BCSO, which is estimated at $113 an hour.

It was noted that BCSO deputies, as well as locals, have noticed a change in speeding habits, especially at the intersection of Highway 119 and East Street, where it has been noticed that people are beginning to slow down.

To the suggestion that a strict yearly budget for BCSO extra duty coverage be established, Mirriam explained that Lyons budgets for extra duty in a similar way, with traffic control, parks patrolling, and staffing at special events all being included in that budget. Mirriam stated that he was unable to present those potential budget numbers and will work with Town Administrator Miranda Fisher to develop a draft budget.

With most Trustees expecting to pass the budget and move forward, Mayor Giblin laid out his concerns, in conjunction with a consensus of public opinion, about policing for profit, animal control representing over-policing, and about paid parking not having been thoroughly discussed despite being a line item on the 2024 budget.

Fisher reiterated that the Board asked Town staff and Sergeant Mirriam to provide a focus on ticketing as a revenue source. Mirriam stated that BCSO deputies currently consider community policing as their primary model of law enforcement and keep that in practice when ticketing, and would do so regarding animal control as well.

However, Mirriam also warned that Trustees should not confuse results from extra duty officers with potential results from Nederland-dedicated officers. Mirriam noted that dedicated trained officers will ensure community policing by better understanding the dynamics of the Town.

The BOT approved Resolutions 2024-02, adopting the budget; 2024-03, setting the mill levies; 2024-04, setting the fees for the Town’s licenses, permits, and services; and 2024-05, allocating 51% of the Lodging Occupation Tax Revenue to be transferred to the Health and Human Services Fund and 49% to stay in the General Fund to be allocated for law enforcement costs.

Trustees were presented with the first stage of results from Godot Communications Inc. (GCI) concerning the Town’s Branding and Creative Identity. Having been awarded $20,000 from the Tourism Management Grant, the Town opted to contract with GCI on September 5, 2023, for $25,000 for the creation of branding elements, including a logo, font, tagline, and Nederland-specific color swatches.

Beckett Taylor and Iti Loorents-Taylor of GCI showcased the initial designs for Nederland’s creative identity, which were a result of over 80 hours of community engagement.

GCI’s team met with members of the public in several different settings across Nederland, from local breweries and restaurants to the Nederland Community Library, and conducted different exercises, all designed to narrow down broad concepts, such as creating colors and fonts to represent the Town.

The design elements, including the logo mark, word mark, tagline, and embellishments, were created to be versatile and useful across many different applications and mediums.

The color palettes were designed by Nederland youth who chose four color swatches to represent a memory, such as the memory of learning to ride a bike, which yielded colors representing the bike and the trees rushing by.

The embellishments, which GCI referred to as “boops,” were pieces of digital art created from tactile materials arranged as small murals, each representing Town departments and areas of interest, including parks and fire and safety. The “boops” were made with a special paper that absorbs soils into its fiber and forms special textures.

Trustees were mostly in favor of all the elements, including the specialized font and the tagline “Step back, look closer,” though some Trustees and members of the public who commented had stated that they had difficulty with the logo mark.

The logo mark, which is a vertical, more conceptual design depicting three precariously balanced shapes, with a small, central circle in between an inclined base below and a rising, larger circle above, was described by Trustees and commenters as resembling a rock cairn. Some thought there could be a better representation of Nederland’s “sharper edges.”

Trustees used words such as “abrupt,” “modernized,” and “cerebral” to describe the style of the logo, with some expressing that they had expected something more simple and representative of a mountain town.

GCI will return with final designs of their visual elements, including the logo mark, at a future BOT meeting.

The Nederland Board of Trustees meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month. Their next scheduled meeting is on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, 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.