John Scarffe, Nederland. The Nederland Board of Trustees adopted and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Xcel’s Partners in Energy program toward the goal of 100 percent renewable energy during a regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 19, 2019, in the Nederland Community Center. The board also approved submitting a Transportation Improvement Grant (TIP) to reconstruct Jefferson Street and the Visitor Center lot.

During public comment, Joshua Lynch, chair of the Nederland Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Advisory Board (PROSAB), resigned from his position. Until a few days ago, he was PROSAB chair, Lynch said.

He has lived in Gilpin County and Nederland and his two children attend school in Boulder. He has been on PROSAB since 2016 and worked on a wide variety of issues. In 2018, the board changed, and they lost Trustees Dallas Masters, Kristen Conrad and another member. They decided to try to focus on a few things they could do well, such as the greenhouse, bathrooms, landscaping and the pump track and it all existed in the master plan, Lynch said.

PROSAB brought a plan for Barker Meadows Park before the board in October. “The idea we came up with served a multitude of user groups, and we thought we could target a whole bunch of people 365 days per year,” Lynch said.

“We focused on the concept, and the plan was to engage the community and work out the details,” Lynch said. “We did speak with GOCO and there were means to make adjustments.”

A few weeks ago, in early February, a note appeared that PROSAB had canceled NedFest. The troubling issue was that very intentional information was spread on social media regarding the supposed ill-will of the boards, Lynch said.

“The grant was pulled, and I was disappointed to not have an opportunity for rebuttal to the board. Between all of the uproar and disappointment, I worried about how my time was being used and could be better spent with my family,” Lynch said.

After significant public input, the Nederland Board of Trustees unanimously voted to withdraw a previously submitted grant application for improvements to the area west of Barker Reservoir during a regular meeting on February 5, 2019.

At the end of the day, PROSAB wanted input and collaboration from the community. “We are a very small community, and our actions do have consequences, and we can act on their behalf. I hope you guys are able to support the new PROSAB members and allow them to do their job,” Lynch said.

“I hope a better grant can be submitted in the fall and a new and better project will provide opportunities for the community,” Lynch said.

Masters apologized to Lynch and thanked him for his service. One lesson the board could take out of this is to try to get the information out there from the point of view of the board. “We let the paper write stories that do not always include all of the information, so we should be able to explain where we are at,” Masters said.

Members of the Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) presented a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Xcel’s Partners in Energy program. The Trustees adopted a resolution for 100 percent renewable energy, including a goal of 100 percent Municipal Power by 2020, on August 15, 2017.

SAB aims to move forward on energy efficiency goals through 2019, according to background. This program will enable a private consulting firm to assist Nederland with energy efficiency programs and opportunities, promotional material, campaigns and technical advising.

“We aim to focus on the efficiency of town operations, businesses and residences,” states background. SAB recommends the Nederland Board adopt and sign the MOU with Xcel’s Partners in Energy program.

According to a letter to Trustee Alan Apt, liaison to the Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA), Xcel Energy’s Partners in Energy program is designed to provide your community with the tools and resources necessary to develop and implement an energy action plan that reflects the vision your community has for shaping future energy use and supply.

Participation is intended to span 24 months with the initial four to six months dedicated to developing a strategic energy action plan and the remaining time focused on implementing that plan. The intent of this MOU is to confirm the Town of Nederland’s intent to participate in the initial plan development phase of Partners in Energy and outline the commitment that your community and Xcel Energy are making to this collaborative initiative.
The primary objective of this phase is to develop your energy action plan with a commitment to delivering an actionable and complete energy action plan within six months of Nederland and Xcel Energy signing this MOU.

Within this period, Nederland is committed to completing the formation of the energy action planning team and the development and approval of the energy action plan. The work products developed will be publicly distributed with the support of Xcel Energy Partners in Energy, according to background.

Mayor Pro-Tem Julie Gustafson, serving as Mayor in the absence of Kristopher Larsen who was ill, said she thinks this looks great, and the board approved a motion to sign off on the MOU.

Town Administrator Karen Gerrity told the board she has been attending Denver Region Council of Government (DRCOG) meetings, and she was already late in the process to apply for funds available for road improvements. A technical review committee goes through the process and vets each project.

Public Works Manager Chris Pelletier started attending the meetings in November. They have tried to find a project and have been talking to the NDDA about improvements from Jefferson Street to the highway to First Street, which is badly need in repair.

The project would include sidewalks on Jefferson and First streets from the RTD lot and the Visitor Center parking lot, Gerrity said. The NDDA supported it. They had to submit an abstract on December 31, 2018, and it was reviewed by the committee, Gerrity said.

At the end of January, they thought they had a really good chance. “We came to the party late and weren’t sure we would qualify, and now we have,” Gerrity said.

These grant funds are managed by DRCOG through a program called TIP (Transportation Improvement Program). Projects eligible for these funds must include multimodal improvements, transit connected projects and roadway reconstruction projects tied to alternative transportation with the ultimate goal to reduce single occupancy vehicles, according to background. This is very complicated funding with multiple steps and deadlines with the first deadline being February 27, 2019.

Nederland is quite likely the smallest entity vying for these funds in a highly competitive process with multiple large municipalities from around the state. This particular funding is only available every four years, and millions of dollars are available.

The town will formally identify the NDDA as a partner in this project. The proposed project includes replacing the sidewalk in front of Town Hall and extending it to RTD Park-n-Ride with an ADA compliant sidewalk, extending the existing sidewalk from Katmandu Plaza to First Street, reconstructing North Jefferson Street, reconstructing the Visitor Center Parking Lot, reconstructing West First Street and improving parking and adding electric charging stations.

The proposed project is in the conceptual stage, and staff is asking for design funds in 2020 with construction to begin in 2021 to allow plenty of time for input on the project. Staff will bring any changes to the project back to the board as the design unfolds.

Staff recommended pursuing this opportunity for funding infrastructure improvements in the downtown area. It would come over a three-year period with the first-year design, which would take place in 2020, and the town would want to bring this information to the stakeholders.

“We promised that we would take that money and leverage it through grants, and I apologize if it feels rushed, but we need to have your permission for the Mayor to sign,” Gerrity said. This is just the approval of the grant moving forward, so the next year would be for design.

Masters said the Visitor Center parking lot has to be turned into a town square and you’re making a decision about that plan. He recommended keeping the street going through and keeping the rest for a plaza.

The board approved moving forward with the grant. The board met on March 5. The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, in the multi-purpose room at the Nederland Community Center.

(Originally published in the March 7, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)