Board of Trustees Action Items
Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Historic Firestone Neighborhood Plan
Update Presentation

The Board of Trustees were given a presentation on Wednesday night about the progress of the Historic Firestone Neighborhood Plan. So far, the consultants and Town Staff have hosted one community meeting, one focus group meeting with business and property owners, and attended two special events for outreach with the community. The purpose of these events was to identify opportunities and issues in the area. In addition, the consultant has produced the Historic Firestone Neighborhood Brief, a report summarizing existing conditions based on available data and initial observations of the neighborhood. The Board of Trustees would like to encourage the public to continue to participate in this plan. Upcoming events include:

Friday, August 6^th – Come by the interactive information booth at Bite Club at Miners Park from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Tuesday, August 17^th – Design Workshop Open House from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 151 Grant Ave. Preliminary design concepts will be shown for several areas in the neighborhood. The focus will be on land use, development types, transition areas for development on undeveloped sites, including the area north of Town Hall and the 78-acre site just west of Frontier Street, and sketch concepts for Grant Avenue, Buchanan Avenue, First Street, and a plaza or square concept for the Town Hall site. The public is encouraged to give feedback on what concepts they prefer and which ones are not suitable for the neighborhood.
Tuesday, September 14^th – Community Meeting #2 at 6:00 p.m. at Town Hall, 151 Grant Ave. Join us to discuss project priorities, emerging concepts, and goal setting.

For more information about the Historic Firestone Neighborhood Plan and contact information to provide feedback, please visit www.firestoneco.gov/HFNP.

Broadband Update & Presentation

During last night’s meeting, the Town’s broadband consultant provided a brief update on the Board’s High-Speed Broadband Initiative. Initiative milestones to date include but are not limited to the following:

Fall 2019: Board of Trustees launches the Broadband Initiative to explore a range of alternatives for promoting advanced broadband services.
Spring 2020: Firestone Broadband Assessment and Feasibility Study kicks off to gather citizen input and provide strategic guidance.
June 2020: ALLO Communications, Inc. submits a comprehensive response to the Town’s Request for Information. This outlined the company’s proposed plan to build a privately funded, ubiquitous Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) high-speed broadband internet network servicing all residents and businesses in Firestone.
August 2020: Board of Trustees receives the Broadband Study Final Report, which identifies the most significant issue facing Firestone is lack of competition among broadband providers. The report’s top pro-active recommendation is for the Town to negotiate with Allo Communications to establish an FTTP network. The report also indicates 90% of survey respondents support the Initiative, and 80% think the Town should allocate money and/or resources towards the effort.

Additionally, beginning in early 2020, the Town initiated cable franchise renewal negotiations with Comcast. Since January of this year, the Town has been engaged in negotiations with Allo Communications pertaining to pertinent cable franchise and right of way access agreements with the goal of a network construction start date in the fourth quarter of 2021. The separate negotiations with Allo Communications and Comcast are still ongoing. Once finalized, the franchise agreements will be brought to the Board of Trustees for final approval.

For more information about the High-Speed Broadband Initiative, please visit www.firestoneco.gov/broadband.

Crack Fill Services Contract

Firestone’s Public Works Streets Division performs various preventative maintenance duties throughout the year, including crack fill. For 2021, staff determined that using a third-party contractor will save the Town both time and money. During Wednesday night’s meeting, the Board of Trustees approved a contract for crack fill services to be performed by Vance Brothers, Inc. The contractor will conduct this service in Historic Firestone, St. Vrain Ranch, and Ridgecrest subdivisions. The service will be completed in about half the time and for about 75% of the cost compared to performing the work in-house.

The schedule of work has not been finalized but will be shared with the public when it is. The work is anticipated to be complete no later than October. Additionally, the contractor will be placing notifications at all households before any work starts.

REMINDERS:

Join your elected officials on Wednesday, August 4^th, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. for a Chat with a Trustee. The event will be held in the Training Room at the Firestone Police Department (9900 Park Avenue). This is a great opportunity to speak with Firestone’s elected officials, ask questions and discuss issues or concerns related to the Town of Firestone. There will not be a formal presentation, so join us whenever you can.

Additional Information

View the complete July 28, 2021 Board of Trustees Meeting Packet here.

Board of Trustees Action Items are brief summaries of some, but not all, agenda items and do not serve as the official meeting minutes. To request approved meeting minutes of Board of Trustees meetings, please contact the Town Clerk's Office at townclerk@firestoneco.gov.