Frisco Historic Park & Museum Exhibit Tour: “Thank You For Voting: Women Seize Frisco’s Government”
Council visited the Frisco Historic Park & Museum for a tour led by Museum Staff of the new exhibit “Thank You For Voting: Women Seize Frisco’s Government”. The exhibit examines the 1916 town election, which resulted in Frisco’s first woman as mayor and six women on the board of trustees. The previous town government officials had abandoned their positions, failing to meet for several years. These seven women organized an election, were voted into office, and rebuilt Frisco’s government. The exhibit examines the build-up to 1916, the results of their terms in political office, and the lived experiences of these remarkable women.
An exhibit launch party was held on Saturday, June 24, 2023 to unveil the new exhibit located on the second floor of the Frank and Annie Ruth House, and this permanent exhibit is now available for viewing at the Frisco Historic Park and Museum from 10:00am-5:00pm Tuesday-Sunday (summer hours and closed Mondays).
Strategic Plan Update
In the first half of 2023, the Frisco Town Council met in two public sessions to update the strategic plan to be presented for adoption during a Town Council meeting in the summer of 2023. With the election of two new Council members in 2022 and the appointment of a new Town Manager in 2022, Council believed it was an appropriate time to discuss the previous strategic plan and assess the progress that had been made in reaching the plans goals. Town Manager, Tom Fisher, presented the updated Strategic Plan to Council during the work session, which will establish a new Strategic Plan from 2023 – 2026. The four goal areas are: providing progress-driven quality core services, supporting a thriving economy, enhancing community inclusivity, and providing vibrant culture, arts, and recreation opportunities.
The Strategic Plan provides a clear, concise, and future-focused direction for the Town of Frisco organization. This plan defines what the Town of Frisco is, who it serves, what is does and why it does what it does. The strategic plan is also used to articulate Frisco Town government’s commitment to the community, clearly state the future vision and mission of the organization, describe how the Council would like the Town to look and act like in the future, develop an annual work plan for the Town government to achieve the future vision, and guide how financial and time resources are allocated in order to achieve the goals in the strategic plan.
The Plan is organized in a manner that allows anyone accessing the plan to easily navigate easily through it. The main sections include public service commitment to the Town of Frisco, vision, mission, values, strategic objectives, 2023 accomplishment of goals, and goals/expectations for 2024 and beyond.
Subsequently on as part of the consent agenda at the regular meeting, Town Council approved the Strategic Plan with some edits, as directed by Council during the work session.
High Country Conservation Annual Update
High Country Conservation Center (HC3) is a local non-profit that promotes practical solutions for waste reduction and resource conservation in our community. The Town has partnered with HC3 for several years to advance the sustainability goals adopted by Frisco Town Council. In 2023, the Town has invested a total of $84,460.00 to HC3’s programs to meet the Town’s goals: Climate Action, Energy Smart Colorado, and Resource Wise. HC3’s presentation to Frisco Town Council outlined their program offerings and HC3’s impacts on the community.
The updates included the following topics:
- Construction and demolition waste programs
- Food scrap program- 503 people in Frisco enrolled in this free program already and includes free compost each May
- Recycling outreach
- Frisco Adventure Park switching to reusable serving trays and canned beverages, rather than plastic
- Marketing and communications efforts
- Universal Recycling- lots of outreach and 13 Frisco multi-family HOA’s/businesses have already had site visits to prepare for 2024 implementation
- Pay as You Throw- outreach and marketing
- Climate action and energy accomplishments
- Energy Smart Colorado- free residential energy assessments and retrofits
- Sustainable Business- free business energy assessments and upgrades
Check out HC3’s presentation for more details.
Ordinance Updating Town’s Plastic Bag Ban and Paper Bag Fees and Requirements
Due to Council’s ongoing discussions regarding the many issues related to single use plastics, Town Environmental Programs staff returned to Council with an ordinance to reduce single use plastic in the Frisco community. The Town’s Bag Fee and Plastic Bag Ban Ordinance 21-01 has been in effect since September 1, 2021. This update to the ordinance will bring it into alignment with the State’s Plastic Pollution Reduction Act HB 21-1162 (PPRA).
Under Ordinance 21-01, 50% of the disposable bag fee may be kept by a business, up to a maximum amount of $100 per month. The new Ordinance, 23-19, would allow businesses to keep 40% of the bag fee that they collect with no maximum, and the other 60% would be remitted to the Town of Frisco. The minimum remittance would be $20 per quarter; there is currently no minimum under the current ordinance. If a business has less than $20 to remit, they would keep the remittance until they had over $20 and remit within that quarter. Under Ordinance 23-19, the Town can now use the bag fee for more purposes, including to plan, promote, or implement any recycling, composting, or other waste reduction programs and related outreach and education. This ordinance would likely be in effect starting in early 2024; the date may be adjusted in the ordinance for second reading.
Currently, businesses are only permitted to provide (with a $.25 bag fee) paper bags made from at least 40% post-consumer (PCR) recycled materials. Under this new ordinance, paper bags would need to be made of 100% recycled or other post-consumer recycled materials, and a $.25 bag fee would still be charged. Businesses with remaining 40% PCR paper bag stock as of July 1, 2024, when this new requirement would go into effect, would be able to continue to distribute (with a $.25 bag fee) to customers until they run out.
Town Council approved the adoption of Ordinance 23-19 on the first reading. The second reading will be during the August 9, 2023 Town Council meeting.
Ordinance Banning Single Use Plastic
At the November 8, 2022 Town Council meeting, Environmental Programs facilitated a conversation about single use plastics and was directed by Council members to return with more information on water bottle bans, “skip the stuff” style ordinances, and clarification on requirements of the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act HB 21-1162 (PPRA).
On March 14, 2023, Environmental Programs staff returned to Council and was then directed by Council to return with an ordinance including:
- Ban on sale or provision of single use plastic water bottles under 1 gallon,
- Ban on single use plastic cups in municipal facilities, events, or Town spaces being used for special events, and
- Ban the use of polysterene to-go containers including hinged boxes, trays, bowls, cups, etc.
- Requirement for all single use plastic items (including utensils, condiments, straws, stirrers, and napkins) to be on request only for take-out food.
Over the last few months, Town staff have sent communications to impacted small and large businesses, met with internal and external stakeholders, and strategized implementation. During the March 14 work session, Council requested that the implementation of this ordinance arrive in conjunction with related programs to assist businesses and residents with the change. While implementation of most pieces of this ordinance will not go into effect until January 2024 (polystyrene products banned) or July 2024 (single use water bottle ban), staff has worked diligently to create a complete package to accompany this ordinance, including a grant program to assist small businesses to implement reuse and waste reduction projects. Council was very supportive of a business grant program in conjunction with this ordinance and directed staff to continue to develop and implement.
Town Council approved the adoption of Ordinance 23-18 on the first reading. The second reading will be during the August 9, 2023 Town Council meeting.
New Hotel and Liquor License Application
On May 27, 2023 Ekawat Sunti, owner/operator of Summit Thai LLC dba Summit Thai, located at 842 Summit Boulevard Unit #19, sought approval of their application for a Hotel & Restaurant liquor license.
Staff recommended that Council approve the application based on the findings of the investigation, as listed in this staff report. The applicant is part of a family-owned chain of similar restaurants across Colorado.
Town Council approved the liquor license application for Summit Thai LLC dba Summit Thai.
Ordinance Updating the Town’s Construction Code
The purpose of Ordinance 23-13 is to update the Town’s construction codes to the latest published edition of NFPA 70 National Electric Code, and the Town is not making any amendments to this proposed code.
NFPA updates the National Electric Code every three years, which is then adopted by the Colorado State Electrical Board. Colorado Revised Statutes requires all jurisdictions with their own code enforcement departments, to enforce the latest edition of State Electrical Code, as adopted by the State Electrical Board. Adoption of Ordinance 23-13 enables the Town to remain in compliance with CRS.
Town Council approved the adoption of Ordinance 23-13 on the second reading.
Frisco Town Council Meetings: Ways to Participate
Frisco Town Council meetings are available to view via Zoom and YouTube, and are also held in person to make Town Council meetings easier to access for everyone.
The public can provide comment during meetings via Zoom or in person (not YouTube), and a public comment period will be available at 7:00pm; during the consideration of ordinances; and at the discretion of Town Council during work session items, which are discussions that don’t require a formal vote by Town Council and do not require public comment.Again, this hybrid approach is intended to make Town Council meetings more accessible, and meeting recordings will typically also be made available the day after a meeting in the meeting archive with agenda topics bookmarked to the discussions in the video.
Due to technical issues, the YouTube recording of last night’s meeting is not yet available. The meeting may be watched via the Zoom recording.
Passcode for Zoom recording: j6%g%e^M