Frisco weighs language on CMC ballot initiative

FRISCO — The Frisco Town Council gave preliminary approval Tuesday to language for a November ballot initiative which would authorize the town to lease 20 acres of the Peninsula Recreational Area to Colorado Mountain College for a consolidated campus.

In addition to specifying ballot language, the council also discussed the draft of a resolution outlining the town’s reasons for pursuing an agreement with the college and listing conditions that should be met for the town to approve any such agreement.

Several members of the public asked the council questions about the best way to proceed with negotiations with Colorado Mountain College (CMC). The ballot language originally proposed by the town did not specify exactly where on the town-owned portion of the peninsula the college could be located or specify any requirements about the nature of the buildings.

The resolution under discussion, scheduled to be voted on at the Aug. 22 council meeting, states the town’s intentions and instructs town staff to forge a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the college, pending voter approval in November. The town attorney, Thad Renaud, reminded those present that an MOU is not legally binding and that the ballot language as initially proposed does nothing but give permission to the town government to lease the land in question to CMC.

An election is required in this case because of a voter-approved amendment to the town charter in 2002 which states that any sale or lease of property on the peninsula must be approved by the voters.

If the proposed ballot initiative is approved, the town government can lease the land without any further input from the electorate.

More than one citizen expressed concern that the ballot language was too vague, and therefore not easy to support.

“It seems to me it would be wiser to have a three- or four-page ballot,” Frisco resident Randy Glover said. “So people do know what they’re voting for.”

The exact location of the potential campus was of primary concern to several residents, including Shanna Koenig, who told the council she would need to know “exactly where it’s going” before she could support the initiative.

Lucy Glover urged the council to consider adding particular specifications to the ballot language so that Frisco would have a stronger position in its negotiations with CMC.

“Frisco may want CMC, but not at any cost,” she said. “(You need to decide) when you would walk away from the (negotiating) table.”

After discussion at the afternoon work session, the proposed ballot language was amended to include greater specificity of location and mention of the town’s development review process.

The ballot language can still be modified before the Aug. 22 meeting, when the council will vote on final approval. The deadline for final certification of ballot language is Sept. 8.

The town continues to encourage public feedback about proposed ballot language and the draft resolution. The text of both can be found on the towns website: www.townoffrisco.com.

Harriet Hamilton can be reached at (970) 668-4628, or at hhamilton@summitdaily.com

Amended CMC ballot language, approved by council on first reading:

May the town of Frisco, Colorado, lease to Colorado Mountain
College, for a term of up to ninety-nine (99) years at a cost of one dollar ($1.00) per year, up to twenty (20) acres of land from within the town’s property known as the peninsula recreation area, on the southwestern edge of such area adjacent to Highway 9, for use as a college campus, with development thereon being
subject to the town’s development review regulations and building code.