NEDERLAND — While in the middle of a foundational shakeup implemented by the Board of Trustees (BOT) in their pursuit of efficiency, the Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA) met on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, to deal with the aftermath of their Executive Director resigning and their Chair switching boards.

They also began to look at whether outside counsel is required as the BOT considers dissolving the Authority altogether. 

After Trustees discussed the fate of the NDDA throughout late August, it was determined that—despite the NDDA’s acquiescence in changing its bylaws and signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Town of Nederland in 2025—both governmental entities still needed to work on their collaborative alignment in regard to downtown revitalization. 

Both Town staff and the Authority were expected to reach out to gain feedback from business owners regarding the effectiveness of the Central Business District-focused organization. However, in an unexpected turn of events, NDDA Executive Director Kate Masingale and NDDA Chair Andrew Dewart both applied for the open seat on the BOT. 

Dewart was appointed to fill the seat, requiring him to resign from the Authority following a transitional period. Masingale, leading up to the vote for appointment on September 1, officially resigned from her position on August 26.  

“Serving my community with the NDDA has been a privilege,” Masingale wrote in her letter of resignation. “I am proud of the work we did to better situate the organization. I am ready to move forward and use my skills in a new way in the community and embark on a new adventure.

I will work closely with the town leadership before I leave. I am fully committed to squaring away all open tasks and projects, and I want to ensure a smooth handover.”

The Authority’s remaining six members and one Trustee liaison were forced to deal with several matters due to the recent situation, from appointing new officers to authorizing new signers for the NDDA’s bank account. 

After having delayed the matter since July, the NDDA finally committed to naming their new officers, starting with Dewart, who will continue as Chair until, he said, the Authority gained more members and a “more stable footing of governance.”  Dewart nominated Richard Brandon as Vice Chair, who was approved unanimously for the position; and John Thompson was appointed again as Treasurer.

Immediately following the appointments, the Authority took action on removing Masingale, former Treasurer Steve Rowntree, and former Chair Ron Mitchell as authorized signers for all of the NDDA’s UMB Bank accounts, and subsequently authorized Treasurer Thompson, Chair Dewart, and Vice-Chair Brandon as official signers.

The Authority was also scheduled to consider adding more provisions to their banking procedures, but Board members did not make any official motions on those procedures for the NDDA to vote on.

These procedures included requiring approval and signatures from two of the three signers for “any change to account signers, online-access permissions, account ownership, account closure, or other bank-account authority,” and to allow Mandy Kneer of ASK Accounting online access “limited to viewing and downloading statements and transactions, reconciliation, and reporting.”

“There are some things that have become clear that going forward we need to have better systems in place,” Dewart said, explaining how the Authority’s transition after losing Masingale has exposed some holes in their foundation.

“Currently we don’t have access to the DDA laptop where there is a bunch of information—passwords and accounts and other things—that our third party accountant needs to verify and help with a reconciliation; it’s kind of put the DDA in a tough spot.

“We’re working through a lot of this transition, really without any systems in place. One example is that Rowntree is still a signer on the account and he hasn’t been on the DDA for well over a year, so there’s certainly some internal reflection and housekeeping that this brings up.”

Dewart continued assessing what measures need to be taken in order to ensure an efficient transition, including making sure the NDDA’s meetings have been—and still are being—recorded and where the transcribed minutes are being stored, before returning to the matter with the Authority’s bank accounts. 

The discussion about transition forced board members to consider whether they should open the Executive Director position to applicants, restructure the position entirely, or move forward without an executive director by having members absorb some of the responsibilities. They also looked at meeting twice a month instead of just once. 

“This is my last meeting with you all so I’m going to share just what I think,” Town Manager Jonathan Cain addressed the Authority, first by warning against having volunteers handling project management duties, and about the amount of staff time it takes to set up board meetings. 

“The biggest problem is that (Masingale) kind of existed in a void, and it’s hard for a volunteer staff to manage a professional employee. It’s a position that has to be able to work well under general supervision and have really clear priorities.”

Cain suggested making the NDDA’s Executive Director position a Town staff position, similar to the Town’s Sustainability Coordinator Cass Grady, who manages and leads the Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board. 

Following the action items concerning the reorganization of the NDDA’s structure, board members then discussed the possibility of hiring Nicholas J. Larson and Paul C. Benedetti with Bear Peak Law, PLCC for $500 an hour each in order to review the Authority’s procedures and statutory compliance, its existing agreements and contracts, its Tax Increment Financing structure, and its coordination with Town regarding the implementation of the Plan of Development.

“I really admire Paul Benedetti,” board member Mitchell said. He has worked with Benedetti for several years. “He was instrumental in trying to get the DDA law established. He’s been a master at getting DDAs and Town boards to work together.” 

Dewart explained that Benedetti has served as the NDDA’s attorney for “many years,” and that his attempts to get a reengagement letter signed have gone unanswered by former Executive Director Masingale for the last 18 months.

“When we pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey, we need your help on this,’ he’s been there,” Dewart said about Benedetti’s recent service to the Authority.

After a brief conversation regarding the proposed scope of services and roles of Larson and Benedetti, the Authority accepted the option to convert the topic from discussion to action, and then voted unanimously to hire Bear Peak Law, PLLC as outside counsel as the organization faces possible dissolution by the BOT. 

The Nederland Downtown Development Authority meets the second Wednesday of every month. Their next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 6 p.m. and will be held online as well as in person at the Nederland Community Center. 

For more information go to: townofnederland.colorado.gov/downtown-development-authority.