The Town of Keystone became Colorado's newest Town on February 8, 2024.
The residents voted to incorporate the Town of Keystone on 28 March 2023 and the home rule charter was approved on 26 September 2023. It is an exciting and challenging time. The Keystone Community for the first time has an opportunity to chart its own course and address the issues that the Community has faced for years.
The primary objectives of the Town of Keystone Home Rule Charter are:
- To create a lasting, non-restrictive charter allowing the Town of Keystone government the most autonomy and power of self-governance allowable by the Colorado Constitution.
- To allow for a robust system of local governance, driven by elected representatives and community input, to ensure decisions are made collectively and reflect the perspectives and aspirations of the entire community.
- Provide a framework that allows for open communication channels, ensuring all community members have a process for their voice to be heard, access to comprehensive information about municipal affairs, policies and decisions that is attentive to the specific needs of this unique mountain community.
The first Mayor and Town Council were elected on January 30, 2024. They are:
Ken Riley - Mayor
Dan Sullivan - Mayor Pro Tem
Gretchen Davis - Councilmember
Sarah Keel - Councilmember
Carol Kerr - Councilmember
Aaron Parmet - Councilmember
Valerie Thisted - Councilmember
The work of forming the town to serve the approximately 1300 full-time residents, 2200 second homeowners and thousands of vacationers has begun. Volunteers have put in hundreds of hours supporting Town start up.
- The first two town employees, the Interim Town Manager and Town Clerk started work on February 8th, others will come on board shortly.
- The Town is in the Keystone Center and is open for business--come on by.
- We expect the Permanent Town Manager to be hired and be in place in April.
- Since the Town Charter Election, Volunteers and all the Mayor and Town Council candidates have worked:
- With Summit County and other agencies to put the agreements in place for the town to function
- To Ensure the Town Hall and basic infrastructure is in place to allow the town to begin functioning on February 8th
- To begin the hiring process with position descriptions, job announcements, interview candidates, develop proposed benefits packages, and draft Human Resources policies.
Most of the town services will initially be provided by Summit County with the first area, Planning and Zoning, passed to the town in late Spring and others over the next three to nine months. The Goal is that as services transition, there will be no impact to Keystone citizens, owners, renters, businesses, and workers.
The website (https://keystone.colorado.gov) will be a hub for information on our new Town. We will have regular updates on how the transition is going. It will be updated with new information as that information becomes available. We will also post all agendas, meeting packages, and minutes of the Town Council Meetings on the website as well as how you can attend a meeting virtually to see for yourself what the town is doing and provide your thoughts and comments during our public comment sessions.
Please be patient -- It won't be easy, there will be hiccups along the way, but we are building a team:
One Team focused on the Keystone Community: The citizens, second homeowners, renters, businesses, and workforce.