Peder Thorstensen

By Will Cornelius
The Surveyor

It’s a blast from the past! Former Town of Berthoud Board of Trustee, Peder Thorstensen has set his sights on returning to the town board.

“I find it very interesting. I like the fact that there are no politics, so to speak in this town. It’s us getting stuff done,” explains Thorstensen about his campaign for a spot on the town board. After serving on the board for two terms, from 2000 to 2008, he has decided to hop back into the action this year.

Berthoud is a different town now than when Thorstensen first served as a trustee 24 years ago. “People were very against growth at the time. They were trying to put a growth cap in at the time,” he explains. “But we knew it was coming because we passed a lot of developments that had a lot of potential for growth.”

Fast forward to 2024 and the continued growth and expansion of Berthoud is the biggest issue the town board has to deal with Thorstensen says. “It has a small-time vibe to it, but it’s definitely big on the outside. It’s amazing how big it has gotten, right? I’m really surprised about that.”

Thorstensen describes the challenge of development in Berthoud as “Mostly the perception of growth.” As a former two-term trustee for the town, his experience listening to and voting on developments has given him valuable insight. “The landowner has a right to do what he is going to do,” he explains. For him though, it is about finding a middle ground or compromise where development can happen, but on a scale the town is comfortable with. He says a landowner, “May want 500 houses, but if we give him 350, we can try and find the middle.”

Reflecting back on his time on the board in the early 2000s, Thorstensen says he was proud of the board’s decision to build the sewer plant and buy the Waggener farmland. He says he thinks the creation of the Berthoud Recreation Center was huge for the town and facilitated a more professional look for the town.

He says decisions the town made in the past, with an eye on the future have put the town in a strong financial position, especially annexing land near Interstate-25 where the Love’s Truck Stop now is. Back in 2000, Thorstensen explains the town’s sales tax base might have been $1 million for the year. For comparison, in January 2024, sales taxes for the town totaled over $1.2 million for just one month.

As a small business owner and former coffee shop owner in Berthoud, Thorstensen thinks the town is on a strong trajectory for commercial growth. “I mean, look, what’s just happened in the last two or three years that McDonald’s and all that stuff out there?” He says about the new string of commercial developments in Heron Lakes near U.S. 287.

Asked why voters should return Thorstensen to the town board, he cites his previous experience and proven track record. “We know growth is coming,” Thorstensen says. Maintaining the quality of life in town and keeping neighborhoods safe are his guiding principles for managing growth in Berthoud he explains.

Originally from a small town in Minnesota, Berthoud is Thorstensen’s adopted hometown now. “Longest place I’ve ever lived, you know, it’s just my home,” he says. For him, he wants to make sure it retains the small-town feel that initially attracted him to the Garden Spot. “Try to do my best to make sure it stays.”