Working together for a safe, beautiful, and vibrant downtown | Nederland, Colorado

2017 NDDA Special Election

NOTICE  11/3/17

Property owners and business lessees can still bring a designated elector form to Town Hall, Monday 9 – 5 or Tuesday 7-7 and receive a ballot.  They can fax or email it to Micki Mills today and over the weekend and pick up their ballot Monday afternoon or Tuesday.

Micki Mills
Designated Election Official
mmills@cccfirm.com    fax – 303-986-1755  phone – 303-218-7206

Need a form – you can find it in the links below.  Have questions or need to know what form?  Call 303-578-8033 or email katrina@katrinaharms.com.

The Nederland Downtown Development Authority (NDDA) and the Town’s Board of Trustees (BOT) both have voted to approve a special election to ask the voters in the NDDA district to approve a Debt Authorization. On November 7th, 2017, the Nederland Downtown Development Authority will ask voters in the NDDA to approve a Debt Authorization which will allow the authority to access and use their by Tax Increment Funding (TIF) for improvement projects in Nederland’s Downtown.



The Debt Authorization Ballot Question will ask the NDDA district voters (the property owners and business lessees within the NDDA district) to approve allowing the NDDA to borrow up to $2.3 million plus interest (amount pending approval) to pay for improvements and programs in the district. Repayment of this debt will come from the TIF portion of the NDDA revenues. The amount of TIF revenue is currently over $150,000 per year and has steadily increased since the formation of the NDDA. Because TIF funding will be in place until 2035, a predictable income stream is available for repayment of the proposed debt.

Passing of the Debt Authorization Ballot Question does not give the NDDA $2.3 million, it gives the NDDA permission to ask for project and program funds. The NDDA will have to develop detailed projects, programs and budgets, and then ask the BOT to borrow the money from the TIF fund. This is a very important part of the checks and balances for the NDDA.

A Debt Authorization is NOT a new tax. TIF funds are a portion of already assessed property tax on commercial property. The DDA may use the assessed funds, with the approval of the DDA district electors, for infrastructure, revitalization projects and economic development projects.

The DDA’s projects are guided by a Plan of Development and Master Plan, which was updated at the beginning of 2017, and approved by the Nederland Planning Commission and Board of Trustees.

Priority projects from the 2017 Master Plan, the DDA hopes to fund with this debt authorization include:

  • Lakeview and Big Springs intersection project, area storm water management and parking improvements for Lakeview, Big Springs, Conger and Chipeta Park.

    shoppingcenter
    Rough concept of proposed improvements around the Caribou Shopping Center.
  • 1st Street Pedestrian/ADA walkability, loading zone, and parking improvements
  • Signage and Wayfinding
  • 2nd crossing at Middle Boulder Creek
  • River pathway design and construction
  • Loans, grants, and rebate programs
  • Event Support, Entertainment District
  • Property purchase
  • Beautification (public art installations, pocket parks, native planting and landscaping)
  • Visitor center improvements and operation
  • Bury 1st Street utility lines
  • Amphitheater at Guercio Field/Barker Reservoir Park.

A major component in the financing NDDA projects is the ability to partner with other organizations to share in the expense of the project. By partnering with local entities, regional partners and leveraging funding from government departments like Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado Office of Economic Development (full list can be found in the Master Plan, pages 34 – 37) we can increase the value of the TIF as we did with NedPeds. The NedPeds project cost a little over $1 million with only $340,000 or about 1/3 coming from actual TIF funds.

You can email any board member with questions, there will be an question and answer session  at both the September and October DDA board meetings. The board chair, Katrina Harms can be reached at katrina@katrinaharms.com or 303-578-8033.

Since its formation in 2005 the NDDA has completed the following projects.

  • Sidewalks 1 connected the traffic circle to Eldora Road town and moving visitors from walking on the Highway to a clean and safe sidewalk.
  • NedPeds (Sidwalks Phase 2) connected the Library with the Post Office via second street. This project also fixed drainage problems at the intersections of Jefferson and Hwy 72, Snyder and Second Street and enlarged and improved culverts along North Beaver Creek. From Snyder to East Street it is designed DV9A2566-Editto absorb runoff where before the runoff would wash away the road base and flood homes. NedPeds also included 2 spurs from Second Street to Hwy 119 bus stops and helped fund a bus stop shelter at Hwy 119 and East Street.
  • Electric Car Charging Station was installed behind the visitor center and provides 2 spots for electric vehicles to charge.
  • Downtown Beautification has been funded by the NDDA for the last 5 years and the past 3 years contracted out to Coloring Colorado, who has changed the flowers to more hardy, native plants.  This last year the pots were installed with self-watering systems to save on labor and water.
  • A Master Plan update was completed the beginning of 2017. The plan, includes a vision for Nederland’s downtown area and a broad, wide-ranging group of projects from infrastructure to economic development that benefit not just downtown, but the whole town through increased sales and property tax.

 

You can email any board member with questions, there will be an question and answer session  at both the September and October DDA board meetings. The board chair, Katrina Harms can be reached at katrina@katrinaharms.com or 303-578-8033.

Scroll to Top