The topic of redevelopment has been a mainstay in Dillon Town Council meetings in recent months. Voters recalled three council members in March and voted in new council members more critical of controversial development projects, after overturning approval for one of those projects last year.

Since then, the council has reviewed the 2020 Town Core Master Plan and taken an interest in the Dillon Urban Renewal Authority, which consists of the same members as the town council and can use special tax funding mechanisms to revitalize blighted areas.

The council has expressed a desire to get public input on redevelopment, especially in the town core, or the area within and around La Bonte Street, Buffalo Street and Lake Dillon Drive. At its May 13 regular meeting, the council discussed hosting community forums on town core redevelopment and instructed staff to draft a request for proposals from forum facilitators.

Town staff presented the request for proposals at a June 10 work session. Town planner Jon Blank introduced the topic, saying the facilitators will host several community forums.

“The goal is to gather community input to help inform future council decisions,” Blank said.

The request tells potential applicants they would need to host six to eight forums, 90-120 minutes each, with at least one completely virtual; guide the discussion at the events; provide a summary and report to the town manager after each event; and give a two-hour presentation to the council after completing all the events.

Meeting topics can include an overview of the Town Core Master Plan; the height, density and scale of redevelopment; the look and feel of Dillon; design guidelines; residents’ desired mix of businesses; and workforce housing.

Council member Barbara Richards said she and council member Linda Oliver thought the map included in the request, which drew an outline around the town center, should include other areas, like the Best Western property, the town hall and the Columbine Center “across from the Homewood Suites.”

Her comment prompted a discussion of what counts as part of the town core or town center, two terms often used to refer to the same area. Town manager Nathan Johnson said the map in the request showed what is zoned as the town core, and Mayor Carolyn Skowyra responded that zoning can be changed if needed.

“We can add something to town core (zoning) if it matches our town core goals and it’s adjacent, or close enough,” Skowyra said. “It should be everything that’s developable on the lake side of the highway.”

Council member Kyle Hendricks said residents will have lots of ideas for the Best Western and Columbine Center properties, suggesting the scope of the forums should not be too wide.

“If we end up having a forum about the Best Western property, it’s just gonna be a bunch of people saying, ‘This is what we want,'” Hendricks said. “Then we’re gonna wait 20 years for a developer to say, ‘Alright, I’ll do it.'”

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Johnson agreed, saying the town should focus on the town core and potentially do more forums in the future about other specific properties if needed.

“I just think we’re going to be chasing our tail here, if we talk about every master plan,” Johnson said.

Council member Joshua Samuel said the forums should maintain a limited scope, focusing on “the town core center area,” drawing laughter from the rest of the council. Skowyra and Richards agreed that keeping a narrow focus would be beneficial.

“I think you’re gonna get comments about it,” Richards said about areas outside the town core. “But that gives you the guardrails, which we were talking about before, so start with the guardrails.”

Skowyra asked the council if they would like staff to send out the request for proposals, and the members all responded positively.