Breckenridge’s Social Equity Advisory Commission, the first of its kind in Summit County, has spent its first few meetings discussing goals and setting its definition for terms like equity.
Town spokesperson Haley Littleton explained that the town hired The Equity Project as a consultant to help the newly appointed commissioners get started. Similar to other town commissions, Littleton said the new commission will take care of housekeeping items, such as going over rules and regulations of the commission and assigning a chair and co-chair. Mission and vision statements also will be defined.
As a next step, The Equity Project will take feedback from the community listening session the town hosted in January to come up with a plan for what the commission can prioritize, Littleton said. As a formal advisory commission, Littleton said the group eventually will come up with recommendations for the Breckenridge Town Council.
Photo by Jason Connolly / Summit Daily archives
The town of Breckenridge plans to survey residents about whether they would support a ballot measure to help fund the town’s child care centers.
The town’s child care program gives $800,000 per year to the child care centers including Little Red Schoolhouse, Carriage House, Timberline Learning Center and Breckenridge Montessori to support programming and teachers as well as access for local families in the form of tuition assistance. The current fund balance and the annual marijuana fund transfers can sustain the program into 2024, but after that, there isn’t a dependable funding stream.
Photo by Arthur Balluff / High Country Conservation Center
Despite the pandemic, High Country Conservation Center met some of its 2020 sustainability goals, such as enrolling businesses in its sustainability program and providing home energy assessments. The environmental nonprofit also focused efforts on recycling and water conservation, which were outlined along with other 2020 accomplishments at the Breckenridge Town Council meeting Jan. 26.
Executive Director Jennifer Schenk said the center completed 15 Solarize Summit projects in Breckenridge last year. The program offers local residents and businesses discounts on solar panel installation.
“Our overall Solarize Summit program across the community was down a little bit, primarily because of COVID, but we still had a ton of success with the program,” Schenk said. “People absolutely love it, and they love the $1,500 rebates. We feel like that is really moving the needle in terms of energy efficiency and carbon reduction.�
Photo from Breckenridge Town Council work session packet
The Father Dyer United Methodist Church is getting an update.
The church is set to add a 2,728-square-foot addition to the existing structure. The expansion will be modeled on the historic church, and would connect to a previous addition built onto the church after it was moved to its current location on Breckenridge’s Wellington Road in 1977. The Breckenridge Town Council agreed to move forward with a development agreement for the project at the council work session on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
The conceptual plans add rooms and facilities that are meant to accommodate the church’s social services. Town planner Chris Kulick noted that the expansion area has a sunken terrace that is not compliant with the town code, and the proposed development agreement also asked for other waivers of policies in the code, including for density guidelines, certain design standards, off-street parking requirements, and all fees associated with t
A shopper carries a reusable bag as he heads to the grocery store in Frisco on Jan. 2, 2020. Only reusable and paper bags made from at least 40% post-consumer recycled content will be allowed in Breckenridge once the plastic bag ban takes effect in September.
Photo by Liz Copan / Summit Daily archives
Breckenridge Town Council decided Tuesday, Jan. 26, that compostable bags would not be exempt from the plastic bag ban that goes into effect in September and debated what type of reusable bag the town should distribute.
Sustainability Coordinator Jessie Burley said a restaurant owner asked the town if compostable bags would be allowed once the ban takes effect. Burley said town staff does not recommend that council allow compostable bags to be exempt from the ban because of a lack of collection and compost abilities in Summit County.