SAB forms Natural Environment Delegates Subcommittee

The Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) was called to order at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, June 27. After brief introductions, SAB Co-Chair Melody Baumhover launched into the discussion items with a recap of the Rights of Nature (RoN) discussion from the May SAB meeting.

Baumhover introduced the proposed Natural Environment Delegates (NED) Subcommittee, which is a re-envisioning of a monitoring and reporting body that will function similarly to the Guardians: to keep the community up to date and connecting to state and county water departments and entities.

SAB Co-Chair Rich Orman summarized the minutes from the first ad hoc NED meeting, which explored the need for and direction of the proposed subcommittee. “It was our consensus this was something that can keep going with monitoring the environment in our area, the watershed, and more,“ Orman explained. “This is also something that will take into account the concerns the BOT raised when they repealed the Rights of Nature resolution and the appointment of the Guardians,” Orman added.

The proposed NED subcommittee is like RoN but is not limited to the health and welfare of the watershed and includes all natural environmental concerns.

Baumhover pointed out that the SAB has the authority to create this subcommittee. She explained that the Caribou Mine is looking to ramp up operations again and this is one thing that the NED could look at as a priority, for example.

After clarifying operational logistics and a general scope for the subcommittee, the SAB created the new NED Subcommittee to examine, and if it deems it appropriate, report to the SAB regarding any issues related to the natural environment in or affecting the Town of Nederland.

The first task of the subcommittee is to establish its scope and the scope of the annual subcommittee report. Rab Lachance, Baumhover, and Board member Jack Kerby-Miller volunteered and were appointed as delegates to the subcommittee. Orman moved and the SAB unanimously approved that the NED look at an issue of asphalt left at Chipeta Park and prepare a statement for the BOT on this issue.

Sustainability Coordinator Leah Haney provided the SAB with the Xcel/Partners in Energy 2023 Community Data Dashboard. This report summarizes energy sources and uses in the Town of Nederland and residents’ participation in renewable energy programs. Haney gathered questions from SAB for her next meeting with Partners in Energy.

Haney gave a brief update on the EV chargers at the Visitor’s Center parking lot. The current level 2 charger has not been charging and it is being repaired. A fee structure of 40 cents per kilowatt hour and excess parking time had been implemented. However, during implementation, the charging stations did not come back online. SAB and Haney will be working with manufacturer ChargePoint to resolve this issue.

Haney will be meeting with Xcel representatives on July 9 for a pre-construction meeting to develop an installation plan for the new Level 3 chargers. Haney updated the SAB on the next round of ChargeAhead Colorado funding to open this fall.

The Nederland Community Library has offered to match the grant to help the Town get the necessary funding and location for a new EV charger. There was consensus that the library is a great location for EV charging, and the group remains open to exploring additional locations for the next charging station.

Lastly, the SAB agreed that the new polystyrene ban ordinance is to go into effect on July 1. The SAB and Nederland staff will work together to educate local businesses and the public on this ban, with a plan for penalties for any violations to go into place in six months to one year.

Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) meets on the fourth Thursday of the month at 6:45 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 25, 2024. For more information go to: townofnederland. colorado.gov/sustainabilityadvisory board.