Fraser Town Meeting 11/1/2017
The Fraser Town Board of Trustees held a regular meeting on Wednesday November 1.

Chief Glen Trainor recognized Officer Bobby Rauch as Officer of the year and was especially accommodated by the Grand County Advocates as “their favorite officer to work with.”  Officer Sean Curran was promoted to Sergeant and was thanked for his valuable time and effort on a burglary investigation that would have not been solved so quickly without his extra effort on the police work to solve the case.  

Winter Park Town Board Member Chris Seeman appeared before the town board of trustees to address questions that Fraser Trustees have concerning the Transit Inter Governmental Agreement between WInter Park and Fraser concerning the Lift system.  The Trustees addressed questions concerning management fees, marketing costs, liability, bus route responsibilities and payment time frames.  He responded with concern over the questions and agreed that there needed to be more collaboration between the two towns concerning the Transit agreement and would bring their questions to the Winter Park Town Board for clarification.  

Additional time was spent on the 2018 Budget.  Town Trustee Herb Meyring requested that $2million dollars be appropriated in the 2018 budget specifically to partner with town landowners to secure land for future affordable housing projects.  The appropriation was considered because “ land would not get any cheaper in the future.”  The Trustees all agreed that a sooner than later attitude on securing real estate should be considered, but the trustees could not agree on an amount at the current time.  

Grand Beginnings Executive Director Maegan Lokteff gave an update on their agency’s progress this year.  She reported that the yearly cost of child care to Colorado Parents iis now as much as yearly tuition to a colorado State University.  SHe reported that it is imperative that parents have access to affordable child care in in Grand County due to the nature and abundance of County jobs that fall in the $25,000 and under range.  She highlighted 100% of Grand County’s early child care centers were now at least rated level 3 on a 5 point rating system by Colorado Shines.  Colorado Shines determines the level of quality of Colorado’s early learning programs for children ages 0-5 years old, Colorado Shines evaluates how each organization works to:                                                                                    

  • support children’s health and safety
  • ensure their early childhood professionals are well-trained and effective
  • provide a supportive learning environment that teaches children new skills
  • help parents become partners in their child’s learning
  • demonstrate strong leadership and business practices

Once a rating has been established, Colorado Shines gives participating early learning programs the tools and support needed to consistently improve their quality. These resources include helping programs develop and implement a quality improvement plan and offering trainings and other opportunities for professional development.

Colorado Shines rates each early learning program on a scale of quality Levels 1 through 5. The ratings are as follows:

LEVEL 1: The program is licensed by the State of Colorado and meets basic health and safety standards.

LEVEL 2: The program meets the requirements of Level 1 and is taking specific steps to improve its quality.

LEVEL 3-5: The program has completed an intensive process to demonstrate quality in the following areas:

  • Support for children’s health and safety
  • Well-trained and effective staff
  • Supportive learning environment that teaches children new skills
  • Helping families be active in their child’s learning
  • Strong leadership and business practices

https://www.coloradoshines.com/families?p=The-Colorado-Shines-Difference

Mayor Phillipp Vandernail thanked the director for her report and stated that the Town of Fraser had maintained the same annual funding to Grand Beginnings as 2017 and encouraged Grand Beginnings to update the town on anticipated future needs.