John Scarffe, Nederland. The Nederland Board of Trustees approved a Special Review Use (SRU) application for the Wild Bear Nature Center during a regular on-line meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 1, 2020. The Board also discussed four grants and Holiday events and approved the 2021 budget. 

Wild Bear SRU

The Board considered an SRU application for a multi-use building containing a nature center by property owner Wild Bear Nature Center at 0 Peak to Peak Highway. This tract of about 4.93 acres is located in the General Commercial (GC) zoning district, which allows a wide range of use types, although the parcel itself is restricted by a Conservation Easement that stipulates the property can only be used for an environmental nature center, according to the agenda information memorandum. 

The Conservation Easement governing the property also limits the built structures upon site to a maximum of 8,500 square feet. According to Arch 11 Project Architect Ryan Hughes, the application proposes developing the lot with a principle building that is 8,280 square foot in size, containing multiple uses related to a nature center, with the remaining 220 square feet for two small, accessory structures: one for a free-standing composting toilet facility, and another for a storage shed building, to constitute the remainder of the allowable developed footprint in accordance with the Conservation Easement restrictions. 

The area has electric service and other utilities to the south at the Caribou Room and for single family residences along Indian Peaks Drive. The vehicular access to the building includes a loop for ease of pick-up and drop-offs. 

In operation since 1995, founded by Executive Director Jill Dreves, Wild Bear has operated a nature center located in the Caribou Shopping Center since 2010. The Nederland Planning Commission reviewed the Wild Bear SRU on October 28, 2020, and noted onsite and offsite parking, a site lighting plan, trash and recycling plan and location of bike racks. 

Town Clerk Miranda Fisher said the application does meet the qualifications, and the Town can provide water and fire protection. Donna Flynn, head of the Wild Bear building committee, said they have brought together a robust team and anticipate a move-in date of October 2022. 

They have submitted an addendum, and the parking design has been updated for 33 spaces, which is more than enough needed and exceeds the parking they had at Mud Lake center. For special events such as the Enchanted Forest, they are procuring agreements to use the Caribou Room with owner Peter Fiori for overflow parking. 

They also have plans in place for buses and have a robust plan for managing parking. They will have bike racks on location and will work with the town on new paths and trails. Wild Bear staff will manage trash weekly. “We feel like we addressed all the concerns,” she said.

Jill Dreves showed a video and said, “Our vision is more important today than it ever was. There can’t be any other place to have a powerful vision for the world.” 

The Board expressed excitement to see this moving forward and approved the SRU. 

Grants

The Board approved moving ahead on grants. During the Consent Agenda, the Board approved receiving $150,000 in CARES Funding from Boulder County Commissioners for small business assistance. The Town has decided to focus on loss of revenue as the eligibility requirement. 

To receive funding, the business must provide proof of loss of revenue, which could be demonstrated through documentation including but not limited to a profit/loss statement and/or comparison of sales tax from 2019 to 2020. Applications were released on Tuesday, December 2, 2020, and are due by 5 p.m. on Friday, December 11, 2020. The $150,000 will then be distributed evenly amongst the eligible businesses.

During Public Comment, Nederland Community Center Director Dawn Baumhover asked for permission to apply for a $100,000 grant for programs including the food pantry with the deadline to apply as Thursday, December 3, 2020.

Town Clerk Miranda Fisher introduced information about two grants. Nederland in collaboration with the Nederland Fire Protection District is interested in applying for the 2020 Forest Resilience and Wildfire Risk Mitigation Grant and Community Foundation Boulder County 2020 Fires Relief Fund to fund mitigation efforts in some of the Town pocket parks and to establish an educational program with the Nederland Fire Protection District where residents can learn how to mitigate their own properties. 

The Town also will be partnering with the NFPD to use these mitigated properties to showcase what proper mitigation looks like as part of on-going fire mitigation education. It also shows that the Town and NFPD are investing in making the Town safer, not just asking homeowners to invest. 

Town staff were just made aware of this grant opportunity and will be focusing on flushing out the remaining details over the next two weeks, according to the memo. The grant is due Friday, December 11, 2020. 

Town staff requested about $50,000 in grant funding for these mitigation efforts. The grant requires a 25 percent match, which would be obtained through $10,000 from the Collective Trust Funds account and in-kind staffing from Town and the NFPD. 

The 2020 Fires Relief Fund was established October 19 to support those affected by the Cal-Wood and Lefthand Canyon Fires. As of November 9, 2020, $521,000 has been raised from more than 1,000 donors. About 10 percent of the fund will be invested in fire mitigation efforts to prevent or minimize impacts of future fires. No match is required. 

The Town of Nederland also is interested in applying for the 2021 Boulder County Economic Vitality Program to support local businesses and enhance the community’s economic vitality. In 2020, the Town received $6,000 from the Economic Vitality Grant that was used to purchase Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and help develop online stores for local businesses, according to the memo. 

The Town is interested in applying for an additional $20,000 to purchase more PPE for businesses including hand sanitizer, masks, gloves, cleaning supplies, etc. Similar to the 2020 funding, if the Town is awarded the grant, a survey would be sent to businesses to determine what PPE the businesses need. The grant is due Wednesday, December 16, 2020. 

Holiday Events

Fisher said the Town has some fun things happening for the 2020 holiday season and has some creative ways to celebrate. The Nederland Downtown Development Authority has granted $5,000 from their Special Events Fund to purchase holiday lights and displays that will be put up around Town. 

Public Works has already installed lighting displays at Town Hall and on the driving bridge, including the use of the Town’s lights from previous years. The community can expect to see more lighting and candy cane displays around Town soon. The Holiday Mountain Market is online through December 6, 2020, featuring more than 400 items from local artisans, crafters, and food as well as a Silent Auction benefiting Nederland Area Seniors. 

The Market can be accessed through MountainPeakLife.org. Distanced holiday happenings around Nederland including visit Santa & Mrs. Claus safely at Citywide Bank drive-through on December 12. Packages include a signed Santa Photo, a ticket to ride the Carousel of Happiness, toffee and a holiday ornament. 

Join in the Town-wide Candy Cane Scavenger Hunt and see how many you can find on display around town, post it on Facebook and be entered to win prizes. Take holiday photos at photo stations around town to spread the holiday cheer. A contactless pickup of Holiday Mountain Market purchases is scheduled for December 12 and 13. More details to be posted at MountainPeakLife.org. 

2021 Budget

Town Administrator Karen Gerrity introduced the 2021 budget and said that since September the Town has conducted several public meetings, and the proposed budget is nothing new and has been discussed during the past two months. The resolutions have been posted on the website for more than a month, and they have not received any negative concerns. 

This is a zero-based budget, and they did not increase the operating budget. Despite the pandemic, the Town continues to increase fund balances for all funds. 

“We are in a very good financial position,” Gerrity said. The Town has reduced expenses by furloughing staff. The Board approved resolutions to adopt the budget, the mill levy for property taxes and the 2021 fee schedule.

(Originally published in the December 10, 2020, edition of The Mountain-Ear.)