Town News

Catch Up with Council, February 9, 2021 – Rezoning School Road, Housing Helps, Lodging Tax Allocation, Economic Relief Programs for Businesses

A Tribute to the Eagle County Community

Frisco Town Council paid homage to the three Eagle County residents who lost their lives in an avalanche last week. Andy Jessen and Adam Palmer, who were both Eagle Town Councilmembers, and Eagle County employee, Seth Bossung, were integral to the Eagle community. Their loss is a loss to Frisco and Summit County as well. Council discussed providing a donation to the families of the deceased and/or possibly a non-profit(s) important to Andy, Adam, and Jeff.

New Distillery Pub Liquor License Issued to Prost LLC. doing business as Pullman Distillery

Town Council approved a liquor license replacing Prosit’s hotel/restaurant liquor license with a distillery pub liquor license. This new Distillery Pub license will be issued to Prost LLC. doing business as Pullman Distillery, located at 313 Main Street.

As prescribed in State Statute, all new liquor license applications must be first submitted to the local licensing authority for approval. Applicants Scott and David Pohlman have filed the necessary paperwork in accordance with the Colorado Liquor Code and underwent the necessary background checks.

The existing, customer-facing side of Prosit will still be a beer garden, but will also serve the spirits made at the back of the facility once construction is completed and a certificate of occupancy is issued.

Rezoning from the Light Industrial (LI) Zoning District to the Mixed-Use (MU) Zoning District at 68 School Road (southeast corner of Summit Boulevard and School Road)

Town Council passed on first reading Ordinance 21-03 which the site at 68 School Road from light industrial use to mixed use in order to enable planning and construction of residential workforce units by Centura Health.

The property is owned by Centura Health and is the site of the Summit Vista Professional Building, which is next to the new Frisco Medical Office Building. Centura plans to demolish the now vacant Summit Vista Professional Building and construct workforce residential units. The current zoning for light industrial district does not allow for such residential development so rezoning is necessary.

The Planning Commission held a preliminary public hearing regarding this application on January 7, 2021. There was consensus among the Commissioners that the current LI zoning designations and some of the land uses allowed by that district are no longer desirable or appropriate for this site. Based on preliminary findings, on January 21, 2021, the Planning Commission forwarded to the Town Council a recommendation of approval for the proposed rezoning. This decision supports the Council’s strategic goal of supporting an inclusive community with diverse housing options.

Housing Helps Program – Options for Purchased Unit

Resolution 19-31 established the framework for the Frisco Housing Helps Program, which was approved by Town Council on August 27, 2019. The Program was implemented to help locals obtain and maintain affordable housing, help businesses house their employees, help incentivize investment in local housing, and help preserve the character of the Frisco community. Housing Helps is one strategy out of several that strives to address the Town’s Council’s priority address the need for diverse housing options for the local workforce.

Under this Housing Helps program, the Town of Frisco purchased a one-bedroom condominium in the Mountain Side development, on January 28, 2021. Options for use of this newly acquired unit included reselling the unit as deed-restricted or renting the unit. During this work session discussion, Town Council gave direction to staff to keep the unit as part of the Town’s rental housing inventory and to rent the unit at 100% AMI.

Lodging Tax Allocation Discussion

The legislative intent of the Lodging Tax fund is to create capital improvements and amenities that enhance the viability of the town as a premier destination resort and to preserve, promote, and enhance the community identity, environmental desirability, and economic health of the town. The tax is to be used specifically for economic development, special events, advertising and marketing, recreation amenities, multi-purpose facilities, open space, and similar uses, including operation and maintenance. The majority (45%) of the revenues from lodging taxes are used to support the operations at the Visitor Information Center (VIC). The VIC is the Town of Frisco’s customer service, point of sale (Marina and Adventure Park reservations), business relations liaison, and economic development tool, as information centers have been shown to increase spending and length of stays.

The current and past usages in this fund are falling within the requirements of the ballot language, but there are many projects and activities currently funded by the General Fund or Capital Improvement Fund that could possibly be shifted to this fund; conversely, some of the Lodging Tax projects and activities could be shifted to the General Fund. Council directed staff to present options for reallocation of funds during the spring 2021 budget discussion.

Extending and Expanding Economic Relief Programs for Frisco Businesses

Town Council approved amendments to Resolution 20-31 to extend the deadline for both Town of Frisco Business Assistance general and innovation grant programs to March 31, 2021, and expanded eligibility to new businesses that had opened in 2020.

At a Special Town Council meeting on December 21, 2020, the Frisco Town Council adopted Resolution 20-31, which re-established economic relief programs providing grants to qualifying local businesses. Resolution 20-31 included a deadline to submit applications by January 31, 2021 and authorized up to $500,000 in business relief funds. The Town has granted $215,000 from the need-based general business assistance program, and $87,000 for the innovation grant. $199,000 in funds are still available.

The current programs were intended to direct financial assistance to those businesses suffering the greatest harm as a direct result of public health orders prohibiting customers from entering their establishments. The programs have achieved their intended goal, however, as with all government grant programs, there are always a few potential recipients that might not meet the criteria as defined by a program.

During the Town Council’s January 9th and January 26th meetings, the Council discussed and thereafter directed, staff to bring forward options to extend and amend the economic relief programs authorized through Resolution 20-31.

Expansion of Grants to New Businesses

In addition to extending the deadline for both programs, Town Council approved expanding the grant program to businesses that opened in between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. New businesses were precluded from qualifying for a grant under the previous programs because Resolution 20-31 requires businesses to demonstrate a comparative loss in revenue by specific percentages between 2019 and 2020. For businesses which opened between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020, grant awards will be based on the following:

  • $2,500 or 2x monthly rent/mortgage, whichever is less for new businesses opening in 2020 with $250,000 or less in gross revenue in 2020
  • $5,000 or 2x monthly rent/mortgage, whichever is less for new businesses opening in 2020 with $250,001 to $500,000 in gross revenue in 2020
  • $7,500 or 2x monthly rent/mortgage, whichever is less for new businesses opening in 2020 with $500,001 to $1M in gross revenue in 2020
  • $10,000 or 2x monthly rent/mortgage, whichever is less for new businesses opening in 2020 with $1,000,001 or $2.5M in gross revenue in 2020

For questions about any of Town of Frisco grant programs, please email COVID19Grants@TownOfFrisco.com