Town News

Catchup with Council, October 26, 2021 – 619 Granite, Promenade Discussion, 2022 Budget

619 Granite Street Workforce Housing Budget Update

The 619 Granite Street Workforce Housing Project is a partnership between the Town of Frisco and Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to develop affordable rental housing on the 619 Granite Street lot owned by CDOT.  During the work session, staff presented to Town Council construction estimates, developed by Taylor Kohrs, for the project.

The cost estimates are below, and do not reflect land costs or sewer/tap fees.  The current two-building, three-story design consists of 22 units.

  • Total estimated construction costs: $6,202,480.00
  • Cost per unit: $281,931.00.
  • Cost per square foot: $320.00

Council was in full support of moving forward to the 80% design, however, expressed disappointment about the energy use aspect of the design, which was overridden by other factors including parking requirements and the Town’s design code. Council also directed staff to seek alternative funding sources to offset the Town’s share of construction costs should the project continue to that stage.

The next critical step for the project team is to develop a financial and operational management agreement between the Town and CDOT for review and approval by both organizations. The Town and CDOT will then need to move forward with contracting for the remaining design work to create bid and permit drawings, and for selection of a general contractor.

Promenade Discussion

After a thoughtful discussion that considered the many forms of community feedback about the Frisco Pedestrian Promenade, Town Council decided to eliminate the road closure aspect of the Promenade, citing business inequity as well as aesthetic inconsistencies inherent to the temporary nature of the concept. To maintain the atmosphere of additional outside spaces, Council will continue to allow the expansion of businesses onto public space using the parklets (portable decks), located in Town parking spaces for a fee, which will be researched and discussed at a future work session.

For the 2022 budget, $75,000 was allocated for the Promenade, pending Council direction. With the decision not to reinstall the Promenade, Council directed staff to reallocate the funds towards implementation of near-term improvements on Granite Street, as recommended in the Downtown Complete Streets Plan.

Adopting the Annual Budget for 2022

Town Council approved the second reading of two ordinances pertaining to the 2022 budget, as well as a resolution officially adopting the 2022 Budget. The Town will have a total 2022 budget of $41,956,555, which includes a transfer from the General Fund to the Capital Fund of $928,193. Council discussed the budget during their September 20, 2021 work session, with the desired changes Council offered at that time reflected in the presented budget ordinance.  Staff estimates starting 2022 with a total fund balance of $37,321,778.  Revenues budgeted for 2022 amount to $25,858,471.  The projected ending 2022 total fund balance will be $22,151,877, with all funds meeting their required reserves at the end of 2022.

The 41% overall drop in fund balance can be attributed to various capital projects supported by the Town Council based upon their priorities and relevance to Council’s Strategic Goals, including workforce housing construction, site work and planning at the Frisco Bay Marina, and construction of the new Slopeside Hall building at the Frisco Adventure Park. Funding will also be allocated for water treatment facility improvements, trails and wildfire mitigation efforts.

Entering a Memorandum of Understanding for Colorado Opioid Settlement

The Frisco Town Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the State of Colorado and local governments within Colorado, regarding distribution of nationwide opioid settlement funds throughout the state. These settlements have been reached with the “Big 3” opioid distributors (McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen) and opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, to resolve claims by state and local governments that these companies contributed to the opioid epidemic. The claims being settled include those raised by local governments in the national multi-district litigation (MDL).

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser signed the Colorado MOU on August 26, 2021. In order to receive the full settlement payments for all of Colorado, strong participation by local governments signing on to the Colorado MOU is necessary. The Colorado MOU is intended to apply to all current and future opioid settlements.

Read the Colorado MOU

The Big 3 distributors will pay a maximum of $21 billion over 18 years, while Johnson & Johnson will pay a maximum of $5 billion over no more than nine years. In total, up to approximately $22.8 billion in settlement proceeds will be payable to state and local subdivisions nationwide. Each state receives a percentage of that recovery, and Colorado’s maximum share from these settlements will likely be more than $300 million.

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.