NEDERLAND - On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, the Nederland Board of Trustees (BOT) heard a presentation from Town staff regarding the Town’s active grants and the progress of the projects that those grants have funded, from housing development initiatives to the design and construction of an egress route through Big Springs.   

Town Manager Jonathan Cain led the presentation, starting with an update on the Town’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant funds, including the allocation of $120,000 to support a Co-Responder Program.

The program has recently been granted an additional $54,000 by the Peace Officers Behavioral Health Support and Community Partnerships (POMH) grant program through the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA).

This reduces ARPA expenditures for 2025, with the balance to be carried over into 2026. 

$40,000 in ARPA funds is waiting to be allocated to internet service provider Maverix for the installation of cross-county broadband infrastructure. The Town expects to spend these funds before the end of the year. 

The Town also has $25,000 in ARPA funds for nonprofit support which remains unallocated. Cain recommended that the board discuss this matter at their next meeting, on July 15. 

FEMA grants

Funds from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants are currently allocated to several major transportation infrastructure projects, including the critical Big Springs Egress project, which involves the creation of an emergency route out of the neighborhood in the event of a wildfire. 

According to Cain, “feasibility analysis is ongoing for routes identified last summer.” A Work Session is being planned for 6 p.m. on July 15, and a public review of available data will be scheduled for August 5 at the Nederland Community Center, after which the engineering firm JVA “will begin finalizing design.”

As for the Transportation Improvement  and Safer Main Streets projects, which involve using FEMA grant funds to update Nederland’s streets, sidewalks, and crosswalks, both projects have been long delayed but are expected to move to bid following the finalization of engineering plans from JVA.

Sustainability  

In relation to Nederland’s sustainability efforts, Town staff plans to reapply for the Boulder County Sustainability Matching Grant to fund the Sustainability Coordinator position. Additionally, the Town had applied to a federal grant program for the installation of a microgrid but the program has been suspended. 

Housing Development

Cain spoke of the Town’s many housing development-related initiatives, including the shared Housing Coordinator position with the Town of Lyons, a Multi-Jurisdictional Housing Authority Feasibility Study to be conducted in conjunction with Gilpin County, and a potential affordable housing project from the Boulder County Housing Authority. 

The Board received an update on Nederland’s collaborative partnership with Lyons regarding the shared Housing Coordinator. $160,000 of the $200,000 proposal, which funds the position for two years, was covered by a DOLA grant, with Nederland’s required match for the grant coming from ARPA funds.   

The update indicated that representatives of both towns are continuing to finalize the job description and define the role. Meanwhile, they are also organizing the hiring process, which they expect to begin by late July or early August. 

According to Town Manager Cain, the Housing Coordinator will serve Nederland by “supporting the development and execution of priority housing projects; assisting with housing-related planning and code updates; contributing to the ongoing Housing Needs Assessment; and supporting conversations around forming a multi-jurisdictional housing authority with Gilpin County and Lyons.”

Mental health

As for Health and Human Services, the Town is currently involved in a grant which provided mental health training to the Peak to Peak Housing and Human Services Alliance, and is also supporting a Volunteer Driver Program, which has already been launched after transitioning sponsorship of the program to the Nederland Food Pantry. 

Future grant possibilties

There are currently no active grants supporting Nederland’s Water and Wastewater, nor for its Parks and Recreation. However, $110,000 in matching funds for potential future Parks-related projects, including for proposed improvements to NedRINK’s facilities, has been set aside. 

Additionally, Cain’s presentation included some of the Town’s strategies for obtaining funding, from seeking eligibility for Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Funds through DOLA, to seeking Historic Preservation grant programs to “support long-term care and adaptive use of Town-owned facilities.”

Sustainability Advisory Board

The BOT met with members of the Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) before their scheduled meeting for a Work Session with the aim of clarifying the SAB’s role and to ensure that their continued work aligns with the BOT’s goals.

Cain began the work session by stating that alignment with SAB is being sought at this time as the Trustees are set to enter their strategic planning sessions during which the Town’s goals for the next several years will be established. 

Members of both boards discussed frameworks to be used to help the Town adhere to sustainability standards across all projects, including the Nederland Planning Process, which leads a project from proposal to approval through all advisory boards.

There is also a Sustainability Scorecard to be used in conjunction with the planning process, which SAB is suggesting be updated. The scorecard is meant to rate projects and developments according to sustainability standards. These are scored based on environmental, social, and economic impacts.

SAB has recommended that the BOT only consider projects that earn a sustainability score of 2.5 or higher.  

During a discussion of past issues that have existed between the boards, there was mention of a professional disagreement regarding the repealing of the Rights of Nature.

Cain also mentioned an issue with the Town not being permitted to add items onto SAB’s meeting agendas.

SAB Chair Melody Baumhover stated that she was under the impression that the agenda is set by the board, not by Town staff, which led to a line of questioning regarding how SAB operates, as there were some inconsistencies when compared to other advisory boards.

Though it was made clear that SAB should not be expected to operate under stringent guidelines like those of the Planning Commission, considering that the commission deals in Nederland Municipal Code, there was the need to define when advisory boards are meant to advise and when they are meant to support the BOT. 

Baumhover and other members of SAB fielded the Trustees’ questions, detailing how “resiliency” is one of the major components of “sustainability,” and listing the many different guiding documents and energy-related action plans that inform the board’s goals, which are updated every three years. 

Sustainability Coordinator Cass Grady added that some form of “codification” of SAB’s operational and collaborative processes would also provide her with clarification on how to best manage her role as Town staff representative on the board. 

As far as the Sustainability Scorecard is concerned, Cain specified that there are no official criteria for when the use of the scorecard process should be implemented. There was also a question as to which body should invoke the use of the scorecard. 

The SAB plans to continue their discussions of alignment, of the scorecard process, and of their renewable energy goals at a future meeting of the BOT. 

NDDA

Later in the evening, Trustees engaged in a similar discussion about alignment with another one of the Town’s boards, the Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA), regarding a draft of their updated bylaws and a draft of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Authority and the Town of Nederland. 

The bylaws dictate how the Authority is to adhere to the collaborative processes set by the Town and the BOT, which include the NDDA’s audit, budgetary, and project planning processes, and final approval of the Plan of Development. 

The MOU addresses the Town’s role in the financial management of the Authority, in administrative and project oversight, on the process for BOT approval of NDDA matters, and on the best practices for collaboration between the two entities.

Related to the discussion of alignment and of Trustee approval of Authority plans, projects, and budgets, the Board began questioning how to define “public good” as a criterion for approval, especially within an MOU that is meant to endure past the tenure of the current sitting board members. 

There was also a question as to whether defining “public good” specifically (such as defining it as “long-lasting infrastructure projects”) was an example of the BOT having too much control over the NDDA. 

Cain stated that he would be researching the matter of defining “public good,” including assessing language within state statute, and will discuss the legal language of such a definition with the Authority and their attorney. The NDDA is scheduled to review both draft documents again during its next meeting on July 9.

Board appointments

The Board also approved several appointments to the Town of Nederland’s advisory boards. 

Jack Craighill Kerby-Miller was appointed to one of two positions available on the SAB; Dwight DeBroux was appointed to the vacancy on the NDDA; and Electra Chronis was appointed to one of two open seats on the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Advisory Board, as was alternate member Caroline Gezon, who was appointed to a full position.

The Nederland Board of Trustees meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 15, 2025, 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.