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HomeMy Public PortalAbout3b Bi-Weekly Update 21 June 2017Town Happenings The Town of Fraser is excited to bring you “Picnic in the Park” featuring live music every Tuesday evening starting July 11th from 6-8PM. Come on out, bring some food, and hang out with some good people! J u n e 2 1 , 2 0 1 7 Bi-W e e k l y U p d a t e Highlights  Picnic in the Park  New Town of Fraser Employee  New Business in Fraser  Planning Commission  Public Works  Fraser - Winter Park Police  Grand Quilt Trail Upcoming Events June 22@6PM Hideaway Park Stage Ribbon Cutting June 24@12PM GCHA Member & Volunteer Appreciation Party July 1@9AM Rendezvous Run for Indepenence (5 Miles) July 1@12PM Wine, Art, and Cheese Festival July 4 LanceGutersohn 4th of July Celebration New Town of Fraser Employee Michael Brack - Assistant to the Town Manger After finishing his business degree at CU Boulder, Michael moved to Fraser with his wife Jodie and their newborn daughter, Jane. The Bracks are originally from Davenport, IA where they often travel to visit family during the holidays. Michael enjoys mountain biking, motorcycling, backpacking, fishing, and skiing and is also an Army veteran. Michael’s role is to assist the town manager in implementing a variety of town programs and special projects. New Business in Fraser There’s a new barbershop in town! Introducing Whittler’s Barber Shop! Owner Jason Craig celebrated their grand opening on June 16th and runs the shop with with his wife, Sandy, and their two kids Jasmine and James. After asking Jason why he decided to open a babershop, he said “It’s fun and doesn’t feel like work. Plus, I get to hang out and meet new people.”Jason and Sandy said they couldn’t have opened the shop without the help of their family, friends, and the local community for pitching in with the building, designing, and sheer working hours it took to construct the shop with all the finishing touches including several family heirlooms hanging on their wall. The name “Whittler’s” comes from Jason’s long lineage of woodworkers and whittlers and Jason soon discovered that if you can cut and trim a piece of wood into a masterpiece, you can whittle someone’s hair all the same! So if you’re looking for a great, quality haircut with a small -town feel, this is the place for you. P a g e 2 Bi-W e e k l y U p d a t e P a g e 3 Bi-W e e k l y U p d a t e Gardening Shed Mural The Public Arts Committee (PAC) painted a mural for the Town of Fraser on the Gardener’s Shed last Friday. The shed simply needed to be repainted. Instead of just applying another fresh coat, for just a little more money, members of the PAC volunteered to design and paint a mural portraying some of the pride and character of the Fraser Valley. This is another successful project by the PAC’s Mural Program to spotlight the creativity and distinction of the citizens of Fraser. We want to send out a big thank you to the PAC and all those who helped get this accomplished! Planning Commission The New Fraser Still We recently approved a development permit for a new distillery. Fraser Still will be located adjacent to US40, bound by Eastom Ave to the north, Doc Susie Ave to the east and an alley owned by Fraser to the south. The applicant is proposing to construct a 4,850 SF building that will accommodate a distillery and a restaurant. Community Resiliency Project Fraser was approved for design resiliency technical assistance. A multidisciplinary team of public and private sector experts, from fields relevant to the community’s need, will come to Fraser and help develop a strategic vision and promote community resiliency. We have a Design & Resiliency Team (DART) preliminary visit scheduled for Tuesday, June 27, 2017. Fraser Received Two CDOT Grants The US40 transportation improvements that Community Builders provided technical assistance for last fall, were recommended in the 2017 Fraser Downtown Strategic Plan. Phase 1 involves enhancing the existing school zone crosswalk at Fraser Avenue and adding a new crossing at US40 at Byers Avenue. Safe Routes to School grant funding was awarded to assist with implementation of these improvements. Phase 2 will add safety enhancements to a third, existing crosswalk located at the Fraser Post Office and will implement additional overall traffic calming measures intended to slow vehicular travel speeds and reduce the number of traffic accidents. Highway Safety Improvement Program grant funding was awarded to assist with implementation of these improvements. Fraser Awarded GOCO Planning Grant for $65,000 The funds will be used to develop a master plan for the Fraser River corridor which lies within a 120-acre parcel of dedicated open space owned by the Town. The plan will assist in researching the impact of active and passive recreational improvements, build potential for educational opportunities, and enhance the wildlife and riparian habitat. We have submitted Request for Proposals (RFPs) seeking a consultant with river planning expertise. The RFPs are due June 23, 2017. New Minor Subdivision on Wapiti Drive The Planning Commission and Town Board recently approved of a minor subdivision on Wapiti Drive in Ptarmigan. This development proposal will create a two-unit townhome property. New Zoning Regulations The Town Board recently approved zoning code amendments to allow for smaller lot size and width, smaller structure size and reduced side setbacks, as a conditional use in many zoning districts. Thanks to the Planning Commission for getting this done! Please contact the Planning Department for more information. The Town of Fraser is requesting proposals from qualified consultants or firms interested in processing a Development Code Update to the Fraser Municipal Code. The Town desires a comprehensive overhaul of the development codes, land use application procedures and standards, in order to create new regulations that are easy to understand and reference. This would help reduce the regulatory barriers to development. The update should incorporate recommendations from recent plans, studies and adopted policies. Building Department The Building Department has issued 60 building permits for new single-family homes this year in Fraser. P a g e 4 Bi-W e e k l y U p d a t e Fraser - Winter Park Police For the month of May our Police Department responded to a total of 383 calls for service with 225 calls occuring in Winter Park and 148 calls in Fraser. This is an increase of 90 calls in comparison to May last year. These calls also generated 41 incident reports resulting in the issuance of 49 citations for driving offenses. The Fraser Winter Park Police also completed the DARE program this June at Fraser Elementary School with all 5th graders graduating from the program. Officer Matthew Murdoch spent nine weeks with these kids and had a great time. Later this June, our Police Department will be filling their one vacant position as well as inprocessing Sgt. Harmon’s replacement. We expect this summer to be very busy for our police department and Chief Glen Trainor stated “We look forward to seeing all of you out and about enjoying the great weather and special events.” Public Works Water We are working through the final agreement details with UPR (Union Pacific Railroad) for our UPR & Eisenhower Waterline project. Anticipated start date of the project is the week of July 12 th and is anticipated to last 3-4 weeks. Our leak detection contractors performed a leak survey of the North system (Old Town) last week resulting in one significant leak and a few minor leaks. Our staff is researching repair options. Sanitary Sewer Our jetting and video contractor is scheduled to begin our annual sewer line hydro jet cleaning and video inspection of one-third of the collection system. We are on a 3-year rotation to clean and inspect the collection system. Streets We are gathering updated engineers estimates for CR8 bridge replacement and roadway reconstruction from US40 to Wapiti Dr. At some point in the near future, we will apply for full funding (80%) from CML Special Highway Committee grant funds along with any DOLA grants available for the bridge replacement in the 2017 grant application cycle. We’re getting down to a final selection of LED conversion lighting for both the Amtrak and downtown decorative street lighting. Asphalt & concrete repairs are being defined and scheduled. We are also researching speed radar signs for the school zone along US40 and purchasing one portable radar sign to be used in various locations around town. P a g e 5 Bi-W e e k l y U p d a t e Trails We have been experiencing some damage to trail signage so we will be ordering replacements and trying to determine how to stop the damage from occurring. Staff is preparing to construct another trail kiosk sign as we continue to enhance trail user experiences. Gardens We now have a full staff of gardeners and by now I’m sure you’ve seen them working on our annual ‘spring’ planting efforts for a colorful summer bloom! Here’s a picture to show off what the Town Gardeners have been doing! Did You Know… Did you know the Town of Fraser website has a great listing of all kinds of activities you can do in and around Fraser this summer? Many of these activities include places you can camp for free, fishing spots and regulations, activities for Granby Ranch, hot springs you can relax in, museums you can visit to learn more about Fraser’s rich history, the High Country Rodeo, golf outings, information about Rocky Mountain National park and even where you can catch a hot air balloon ride. If you’re not sure what to do this summer, check out FraserColorado.com and under the “Explore Fraser” option, choose “Activities and Attractions” for a list of just a few of the best ways to spend your summer in the Fraser Valley! Please feel free to contact me with any questions Jeff Durbin Town Manager 970-726-5491 x202 jdurbin@town.fraser.co.us P a g e 6 Bi-W e e k l y U p d a t e Town of Fraser PO Box 370, Fraser, CO 80442 office 970-726-5491 fax 970-726-5518 www.frasercolorado.com Grand Quilt Trail You may have noticed some of these “barn quilts” around town. Barn quilts often harbor a unique history and many enjoy them as an enjoyable decorative piece for their home. This adds a great local tourism activity to Fraser to follow the “quilt trail” as the Grand Quilters and Grand County Historical Association (GCHA) support the Grand Quilt Trail. This is a a community initiative that celebrates the heritage of quilt making and honors the early settlers and women who began this long tradition. For more info or if you’d like to get a barn quilt of your own, please contact GCHA, www.grandcountyhistory.org or Betsy DeVries, betsy@iskialot.com.