Colorado Communities for Climate Action Update

During the May 13, 2025 work session, Town of Frisco Sustainability Coordinator, Nico Cruz, and Colorado Communities for Climate Action (CC4CA) Executive Director, Jacob Smith, provided a presentation on the recent state legislative activity, agency/regulatory developments, and federal climate-related updates relevant to the Town of Frisco.

CC4CA is a coalition of over 40 local governments across Colorado advocating for stronger climate policy at the state and federal levels. The Town of Frisco has been a member since 2018. CC4CA gives towns like Frisco a stronger voice by coordinating advocacy efforts at the state level on shared climate priorities.  For the 2025 legislative session, CC4CA evaluated nearly 90 bills, substantively engaged on 50, and celebrated success on 41 of those. 

Summit Combined Housing Authority Presentation

Summit Combined Housing Authority (SCHA) Executive Director, Corrie Burr, gave a presentation to Town Council on a variety of Countywide workforce housing topics, which included funding; covenants/deed restrictions in regards to lottery resales, asset testing, resale calculations, and home/capital improvement caps; mobility in homeownership; and recommendations for moving forward. The presentation also included SCHA’s recommendation for Town Council on best practices:

Workforce Housing and Funding

• SCHA discussed the reasoning behind workforce housing and why it is provided, which included a brief overview of the Intergovernmental Agreement among Summit County and the Towns of Frisco, Breckenridge, Dillon, Montezuma, Silverthorne and Keystone.
• Affordable housing is funded using 5A Funds, which was originally passed by voters in 2006, to establish a sales tax to go directly to housing. The second ballot measure was passed in 2016 and renewed in 2021. The current tax rate is 0.725% and is in effect through 2046 and generates $13.6 million annually in Summit County.

Covenants/Deed Restrictions

• Lottery
  • SCHA provided information on how other local communities in the County handle extra tickets, priority entries, and priorities for residency and/or employment within defined geographic areas.
  • SCHA discussed their software capabilities for reviewing lottery entries and statistical analysis of how extra tickets have increased the odds for an entry being drawn. In 2024, 75% of the top five winners had a priority entry.
  • Lottery for resales is recommended in addition to the use of priority entries to match Town of Frisco goals for workforce housing.

• Resale Calculations
  • SCHA uses the AMI table to determine workforce rental rates and for sale calculations that are tied to the AMI chart.
  • SCHA answered Council’s questions about the Summit County AMI table and provided information on how other local communities in the county handle resale calculations.
  • SCHA suggests resale calculations should not utilize the AMI table and should be a set appreciation amount. Most recent covenants are a standard resale calculation of 2 to 3% each year. This creates transparency and a predicable affordability factor for the future.

• Capital/Home Improvement Cap
  • SCHA provided clarification on qualifying capital improvement caps (QCI’s) and the impacts of allowing unlimited QCIs.
  • It is recommended that a new covenant/deed restriction include qualifying capital improvements but limit those improvements to 10% of the initial purchase price every 10 years with a depreciation schedule on those improvements.

Mobility in Homeownership

• In April 2025, the average single family home price was over $2.5 million and multi-family was over $1.2 million in Summit County.
• It is unlikely that most community members will be able to go from a deed restricted property to a market rate home, unless a family’s economic status dramatically changes.
• Currently, the trend for residents to move from one deed restricted property to a different deed restricted property.
• SCHA suggested the focus should be on how to maintain a level of attainability, not to make movement to market rate properties a goal. An income buffer is recommended at 20% to 40% to allow for fluctuations in interest rates and the ability to save and cover added expenses like college loans or medical bills.

SCHA Recommendations

In summary, SCHA provided the following recommendations for Town Council to consider:

• Use a lottery system for resales with priority entries to match Frisco’s goals for workforce housing.
• Asset testing is not recommended, as it is not the best way for to determine affordability.
• For resale calculations, it is recommended that the Town use a 2-3% annual appreciation, not compounded, and not tied to the AMI chart.
• Real estate commissions should be capped at 2% with lottery sales.
• Always include an income buffer to maintain affordability. 
• Allow covenant/deed restriction changes to match a property or project goal/need.
• A deed of trust and promissory note should be added. This is standard in other communities, but the Town of Frisco has not done this before.
• Reference the AMI chart for income only when setting rental rates and for sale prices for new projects.
• Add a right to inspect clause to the covenant to ensure that a property, including appliances within the unit, are in good working condition for a resale.

Council discussed longevity in the county and setting priority entries for those who have been in the county 10+ years. The option of waitlists was also discussed and the difficulty of managing them. Council will continue to discuss Frisco housing restrictive covenants/deed restrictions in their upcoming work sessions.   

Sales and Lodging Tax Community Survey

On January 8, 2025, during the Frisco Town Council retreat, Council prioritized capital projects for the next 10 years. As a result of these discussions, staff returned to Council on April 8, 2025, with a 10- year capital improvement program that was adopted by Council through Resolution 25-12.

During the Council retreat on January 8, 2025, Council also expressed interest in exploring a tax increase to support funding for capital projects and/or ongoing operational expenses. Additional funds secured through a tax increase could potentially expedite capital projects from the 10-year plan and/or prioritize unfunded capital projects currently not on the 10-year plan but prioritized by the Council and the community through various planning processes. Council supported staff engaging a firm to research community sentiment on passing a tax increase to expedite and complete capital projects.

Staff reached out to Magellan Strategies who have been highly recommended both locally and statewide. Ryan Winger, Polling Project Manager and Ballot Measure Consultant with Magellan Strategies, presented details of what their firm does and reviewed a draft community survey with Council.  

Council gave staff direction to move forward with a community survey and to include information about a more significant lodging tax increase that would be equivalent to a sales tax increase in order to be able to compare the options between sales tax and lodging tax increases. Staff noted that Frisco’s lodging tax is significantly less than other towns in Summit County and that the sales tax rate is also 0.5% less than the towns of Dillon and Breckenridge. The community survey will be released in late May/early June, and Council will receive the results of the survey at a later Council meeting. Council will then have the opportunity, based on these results, to decide if they want to move forward with a tax increase ballot question to voters as early as November 2025. 

Childcare Tuition Assistance

The amended and restated intergovernmental agreement for the Summit County childcare tuition assistance program was approved by Town Council.The agreement continues the Summit First Steps Program to fund tuition assistance for children ages six weeks to three years old who do not qualify for the Summit Pre-K Program. The estimated 2024/25 cost to the Town of Frisco is $317,447.85, with the funding coming from the Nicotine Tax revenue. 

Reappointment of Two Frisco Arts and Culture Councilmembers

Town Council appointed seven members to the Frisco Arts and Culture Council (FACC) in May 2023 and then filled two subsequent vacancies in September 2023. Due to the creation of this new board, staggered terms were created with three members assigned to three-year terms, two assigned to two-year terms, and two assigned to one-year terms. Subsequently, the terms of two members, Melissa Sherburne and Todd Altschuler, expired on May 9, 2025.

The FACC is hitting its stride and is making significant progress on projects that are identified in the Arts and Culture Strategic Plan, including mural installations, public art collection maintenance and repair, sound and lighting workshops, event support, planning and execution, and collaborations with neighboring communities. Therefore, the two members whose terms expired on May 9, 2025, Melissa Sherburne and Todd Altschuler, were re-appointed by Town Council for three-year terms.

Liquor License Application for Silver Crown Ventures

On March 26, 2025, Jason Dorman and Christine Thompson, owners The Silver Crown located at 80 West Main Street Unit #120, applied for and sought approval of their application for a tavern liquor license.

Town Council approved The Silver Crown’s liquor license.

Contract with Glass Roots Construction for Fiber Broadband Network Services

Council approved Resolution 25-20 to award the fiber optic broadband network construction services contract to Glass Roots.

The Town is currently challenged by its own existing broadband options. Town facilities utilize Xfinity business internet services, and while Xfinity can meet many of the Town’s needs for internet, it generally does not offer 1 gbps symmetrical speeds that a fiber network could provide, there are service outages which occur occasionally at Town facilities, a separate Lumen copper ethernet system is required between Town facilities to provide a secure network and results in slow speeds for the Town servers, there are no internet services at most Town water facilities, there are not “dark fiber” options with Xfinity (dark fiber are fiber strands that are dedicated only to Town use for additional control and security), and the Town does not currently have other options for service.

This construction project with Glass Roots will include approximately three miles of Town fiber optic cable and conduit connecting all Town-owned facilities to Project THOR through an existing connection at the County Commons Building.

A request for proposal (RFP) was publicly advertised from February 27, 2025 to March 21, 2025 to solicit construction proposals for the project. Nine proposals were received, and subsequently, Glass Roots Construction was the highest scoring proposal based on their price and quality, while also being qualified to complete the work based on their experience, past projects, and project team.

Board of Appeals Appointment

Chapter 4 of the Town Code states that the Town Council is required to appoint three members to the Board of Appeals (BOA).

• The BOA serves three-year terms.
• The BOA hears and decides appeals, and reviews any order, requirement, decision, or determination made by any administrative official charged with the administration or enforcement of the building construction standards in the Town Building Codes. 
• The BOA can and is encouraged to advise on code adoptions and amendments.

Town Council approved the appointment of Eli Brown, who meets the requirements, to be a member of the BOA to finish a term ending on September 31, 2026.

Frisco Comprehensive Plan Adoption

Council adopted Resolution 25-24, a resolution to adopt the Frisco Comprehensive Plan. 

In the State of Colorado, a comprehensive plan is necessary to guide growth and development, and the Town received a $100,000 grant from the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) to complete the plan. The new Frisco Comprehensive Plan involved a thorough, year-long process driven by the community to revise and enhance the Plan, which was last updated and adopted in 2019. Throughout the past year, staff engaged in extensive public outreach, including meetings, work sessions, and open houses to gather input and feedback on the Towns goals, strategies, and implementation.

Amendments to Agreement for 602 Galena Street

The Town of Frisco has been working with the NHP Foundation (NHPF) since early 2023 when staff from NHPF approached Town staff and Council on affordable housing opportunities in Frisco. The mission of NHPF is to “preserve and create sustainable, service-enriched multifamily housing that is affordable to low- and moderate-income families and seniors, and beneficial to their communities.” This mission aligns with the Council’s strategic plan to support a thriving economy by increasing workforce housing and enhancing community inclusivity by offering a variety of housing types to support year-round residents.

The 602 Galena project has evolved partly due to the ongoing pursuit of the 101 West Main LIHTC housing project. Recognizing the significant need for all housing types and rental rates within Frisco, the Town has focused on ensuring that the two projects provide a range of affordable rental housing options to the community. The 602 Galena project is projected to move forward in 2025 with 54 rental units at an income rate of 120% of the Summit County Area Median Income.

Following the adoption of a development agreement and ground lease between the Town of Frisco and NHPF Galena LLC, the Frisco Community Housing Development Authority (FCHDA) received a request from NHPF to amend the adopted Unconditional Guaranty during the April 22, 2025 FCHDA meeting. In addition to the unconditional guaranty amendment request, Town staff also brought forward an amendment to the adopted loan agreement for Town Council consideration. Town staff are currently waiting for comments from NHPF regarding the assignment and subordination of architect contract and the assignment and subordination of construction contract.

Council approved Ordinance 25-08 on the first reading to approve the loan and guaranty amendments. The second reading is scheduled for May 27, 2025.

Ordinance Banning the Sale of Flavored Nicotine Products

Town Council approved Ordinance 25-07 on the second reading prohibiting the sale of flavored nicotine/tobacco products and prohibiting discounts on the sale of nicotine/tobacco products. 

The State Legislature passed HB19-1033 in March of 2019, which allowed counties and municipalities in Colorado to implement licensing and taxes on nicotine products. The bill also authorized counties and municipalities to enact a resolution or ordinance that prohibited a minor from possessing or purchasing nicotine products and allowed counties and municipalities to impose regulations on nicotine products that are more stringent than state regulations.

Measure 1A was passed by the voters in November 2019, resulting in Ordinance 19-15 establishing a Tobacco Retailer Licensing process in the Town of Frisco, moving the minimum age for purchase of tobacco products to 21 years starting January 1, 2020.

During the November 11, 2024 Town Council Work Session, Becky Peltier, Health Promotion and Prevention Specialist for Summit County Youth & Family Services, presented an update to Council on the Countywide Nicotine Tax including statistics and program outcomes. A group of local high school students also presented their experiences with nicotine/tobacco products, requesting that the Town adopt a ban on flavored nicotine/tobacco products. Several high school students returned on April 21 to provide public comment highlighting the negative impacts of nicotine and tobacco products.

Per Council’s direction, staff presented a revised Retail Tobacco Business Licensing Ordinance 25-07. The Ordinance will go into effect on January 1, 2026 and includes:

• Prohibition on the sale of flavored nicotine/tobacco products
• Prohibition on discounts for nicotine/tobacco products

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.