Peak to Peak Cannabis Festival – yes or no?
Nederland Board of Trustees Meeting
The Town of Nederland held its first 2010 regular Board of Trustees (BOT) Meeting on Tuesday, January 5th, at 7:00 p.m. in the Nederland Community Center. Attending the meeting were members Mayor Martin Cheshes, Mayor Pro-Tem Betty Porter, and Trustees Sumaya Abdu-Haidar, Roger Cornell, Joe Gierlach, and new member Marci Wheelock. Trustee Kirk Barnett was absent. Additionally, Town Administrator Jim Stevens, Attorney Carmen Beery, Treasurer Eva Forberger and Clerk Christi Icenogle were in attendance.
The Warrants section of the Consent Agenda and the Regular Meeting Minutes of December 15, 2009, were unanimously approved.
There were no comments in Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items.
Proposed Forest Management Policy
The first item for review was a presentation by Boulder County Parks & Open Space Department (BCPOS) about a proposed Forest Management Policy. The Boulder County representatives who made the presentation were Chad Julien, Forestry and Fire Supervisor, and Chad Ricklefs, Natural Resource Planner. The presentation summarized five goals, with their supporting objectives and standards, including pine beetle treatment and biomass utilization.
The proposed forest management policy will apply to properties Boulder County owns or manages, incorporating open space surrounding Nederland. In collaboration with the involved communities, a policy draft is being presented by BCPOS to town boards – such as Lyons and Nederland – for their review and input before beginning the official public review process.
Once the policy document is ready for a public review of 30 days, notices will be appearing in the newspapers about where public forums to be held in Boulder, Lyons and Nederland for policy discussion. The forums are tentatively scheduled for next month in February. The policy document will be available on the BCPOS website, www.bouldercounty.org, under County Departments, Parks & Open Space, in the near future.
Community Center Kitchen Remodeling
The next topic was discussion and approval of an additional $3,500 for engineering work on the Community Center kitchen remodel. A “Statement of Work” was submitted by Kevin Mueller, P.E., for the remodeling project. Staff recommended that the board approve the proposal or open the project up for bids. After some discussion by the board and public comment by Dale Porter regarding the renovation, the board unanimously voted for approval of the project.
Peak to Peak Cannabis Festival for 2010
A lively discussion of the proposed 2010 Peak to Peak Cannabis Festival was opened for board discussion. Staff recommended “approving the event as proposed with no alcohol or smoking of marijuana at the event.” Peak to Peak Music Festival, LLC, the event applicant, was represented by Cynthia Davis and Jessica Diggs to answer questions about the festival. Town Administrator Jim Stevens complimented Davis on the proposal, commenting that it was well-written.
The Town of Nederland Special Event Application listed the Peak to Peak Cannabis Festival as taking place on July 17-18 at Guercio Field, with an anticipated daily participation of 1,500 people. The festival would feature the cannabis plant uses and education, with speakers, workshops and a tent available for medicinal marijuana use.
Mayor Pro-Tem Porter brought up an e-mail she had received against a petition for legalizing pot or marijuana. Porter believed the e-mail was a result of confusion over this proposal, but she did want it in the record as an objection.
Davis responded to a comment that Ned is a “cannabis town,” pointing out that the hippies have come and gone over the past 50 years, and that the festival organizers want to be pioneers of education regarding cannabis.
Trustee Abu-Haidar expressed her concern about how prominent the push was to change legislation for the legalization of recreational marijuana. She remarked that she wanted to see where the people stand before the BOT approved the festival.
After a contentious and lengthy discussion with public comment, the board unanimously voted to table the discussion for two weeks until the next meeting. This was done in order to greater publicize the proposed event through the local newspapers and through an interactive listing on the town’s website.
Water Conservation Program
Next on the agenda was Ordinance 679, an Ordinance Amending Article III of Chapter 13 of the Nederland Municipal Code to Adopt a Water Conservation Program. Administrator Stevens reminded the trustees that the town entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the City of Boulder. The IGA put the town under a number of obligations to the city in exchange for their financial support.
The board was concerned about the stringent regulations the ordinance would impose upon the town. Stevens commented that Boulder uses water very differently – from watering sod to filling swimming pools – than Nederland does. The school and RTD use the most water in town. Trustee Gierlach recommended a modification of the ordinance and it was unanimously passed with the addition.
Business Licensing Process
The next discussion was to address a request for updating the Business Licensing process. A clearer business licensing process, listing the steps a potential business owner needs to complete before opening a business in Nederland, was requested by the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and other organizations.
After discussion with public comment, the board agreed to collaborate with the Chamber of Commerce, DDA and other business owners in having them review and recommend changes to the current process. The item was tabled.
Parks, Recreation and Open Space Representative
Trustee Kirk Barnett was chosen to attend the next several Parks, Recreation, Open Space, and Advisory Board (PROSAB) meetings.
Communicating with the Board of Trustees
A member of the audience stood to speak in questioning how the board communicates with others – was there a procedural process in place. The mayor replied that in his experience whoever had the best relationship with a contact would communicate with them. More discussion followed with a general consensus reached that the town administrator was the general contact for communication.
Mayor Cheshes Chosen as US Ambassador
Mayor Martin Cheshes submitted and emotionally read a statement to the Board of Trustees regarding his decision to accept a short-term posting of two months as an acting United States ambassador, or Charge d’affairs, to the African state of Sierra Leone. The mayor did not have an exact departure date for his posting, due to paperwork processing, but expected it to occur within two weeks.
He acknowledged that “such an absence” might be “troubling” to the board. Mayor Cheshes stated that if the board decided “that I should resign my position as mayor, I will certainly comply.” He added, “that whatever the case may be, it is my intention to run for reelection in this coming April’s elections.”
Mayor Pro-tem Porter expressed her view that Mayor Cheshes’s term was almost over and it might be more disruptive if he resigned. It was decided to consider the issue of the mayor’s forthcoming absence at a later date.
Improving Ned Public Relations
During the board meeting, several members expressed a strong desire to discuss one of the boards’ stated priority goals for 2009-2010, “Improve the town’s public relations.” This issue will be addressed at a board workshop to discuss all goals and will have been held on Tuesday, January 12th, from 7-10:00 p.m. at the Community Center.
Heads-up
The next regularly scheduled BOT meeting will be on Tuesday, January 19th, at 7:00 p.m. at the Nederland Community Center. Please check the town’s website, www.town.nederland.co.us, for more information.