[{"_1":2,"_123":-5,"_124":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99,111],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6616577,"mediaKeyId","2851712-c024c22942712ce52357392a45ca877e","parentId",2851712,"title","Adams County and Thornton update council on Healthy Farmers Market sustainability, ARPA vouchers through 2026","audioSeconds",408,"startMs",4178000,"endMs",4586000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2851712-c024c22942712ce52357392a45ca877e&start=4178&end=4586","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2851712-c024c22942712ce52357392a45ca877e/thumbnail_4178000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6616577/Thornton-City/Adams-County/Colorado/Adams-County-and-Thornton-update-council-on-Healthy-Farmers-Market-sustainability-ARPA-vouchers-through-2026","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6616577-89720d622f7714ab4a2e1f88a92ca809/orig.mp4?Expires=1771185267&Signature=VouktJgVLrM-3XavXI9qQk~i7L9RrEAx1M5QJneFp~1nczkef37qeiabnnIm-L645IAexRH1nE2WCSlsiEDSfr2ekSimSWa1tMzhN-GMn4jVOETWVGFc2hG1jdVE13t3XV~~rHRMj5WivR~pFDumizt4ZuM47-pFo6ugJ5n9hG6kPxJ01qiLrRVe5PDGtNMRuuAMymrWwsPf2sRcO5h2QYyrExqysD~HCTlsnmMIQWGa321PbIN74OxxoV3izoUcd4IItbCVyIfTQTxatPFDTdPVeqoc~ouQ82UJHm0pnlO1z~OHDVspe5y9OrKX1sws8kYfEI7pyv3g4awKkWPQ4w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Thornton CO","date","2025-04-02T18:16:43.907Z","article","Adams County Health Department and partner staff updated the Thornton City Council on April 1 about the Healthy Farmers Markets program, the status of produce-voucher funding, and options to sustain markets in 2025.

Steering-committee representatives said the markets began as a 2018 grassroots effort to improve access to fresh food in areas identified as food deserts. The partnership has evolved and the county secured $443,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to subsidize produce vouchers from 2023 through the end of 2026; presenters said $194,000 of that ARPA allocation remains available to use through 2026. Markets have included on-site resource providers to register residents for benefits, distribute harm-reduction supplies, provide health checks and offer nutrition education.

Because vendors have expressed concern about federal funding cuts that affect their capacity, Adams County will engage a market-sustainability consultant (funded by the county) to study options. County staff outlined near-term options: several partial-day markets hosted at locations across Adams County that would not require city funding, or weekly/biweekly prepackaged food-box pickups at one or more Thornton locations that would require city financial support. County staff said they will return to council later this month with possible market models and corresponding budgets for council consideration.

Council thanked the presenters and expressed interest in continuing to support markets and vendors while staff studies long-term sustainability.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Thornton City Council Planning Session - April 1, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Adams County staff told Thornton council that the Healthy Farmers Market program has ARPA funds through 2026 but faces vendor capacity concerns; the county will analyze sustainability options and return with budget requests for possible city support for 2025.","taxTitle","Thornton City, Adams County, Colorado","taxId",5596,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6616581,"Thornton to require permits, $30 flat fee for nonresidential temporary and special-event signage; council asks for clarifications on political signs",903,3134000,4037000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2851712-c024c22942712ce52357392a45ca877e&start=3134&end=4037","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2851712-c024c22942712ce52357392a45ca877e/thumbnail_3134000.jpg","/articles/6616581/Thornton-City/Adams-County/Colorado/Thornton-to-require-permits-30-flat-fee-for-nonresidential-temporary-and-special-event-signage-council-asks-for-clarifications-on-political-signs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6616581-352bda98bffd45bb612195a3132cc8ec/orig.mp4?Expires=1771185267&Signature=QeLK2~~7CHwU~WAP3aM47zsEh~TsQRsOy5Kb-GnqHGcH1Pq42U2mK8cJwEYN9GkqfmjblCzHnx-9yUNCkzSOWwe9Hg9ZM812ii~ch5B27HwMuC0wZz4CBYxCU-hFaKwgcxrphxg1Fu~yFYUhy97grk4tWaRFo4~I~TtmIRdl5LjOMucbZUl2sK1hmyPWwZPgZq4zLvdDyNq75s~eBElbqIGZ-e05peOuNonFuonFYXhN5~XJs9sGHqLQ6XqypuuhOA8J1evV5qDg~dK-jrN8KICpIgFutFno2CUUG1f8~rHN1Es4209MgX6GZiccy5RHGndF5yxMjJv4-YVmdDGilA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Thornton staff presented a proposal on April 1 to simplify and standardize permitting for temporary and special-event signs on nonresidential properties, and the council approved moving the change forward with a $30 flat permit fee.

Planning and Code staff explained the change would require permits for banners, freestanding signs, feather flags, inflatables, air dancers and similar temporary devices. The proposal sets a $30 flat fee per sign and keeps existing limits on duration (six months under current code) and size. Staff said collecting permit information will help enforcement and preserve community aesthetics.

The council asked several practical questions about campaign signage and enforcement. Staff and the city attorney noted that political signage raises First Amendment considerations and that regulators must be cautious about differentiating signs by content. Code compliance staff said enforcement would emphasize education and a verbal warning for a first violation, with citations (about $150 as stated in the meeting) for repeat violations. Councilmembers asked staff to prepare clear guidance for campaigners and to perform outreach to small and home-based businesses; the city’s business alliance agreed to assist with bilingual outreach.

Councilmember discussion concluded with approval to proceed on the $30 flat fee proposal; staff will return final code amendments as part of the broader code update and will provide additional detail on how political signage and enforcement will be handled.","Staff proposed and council approved advancing a code change to require permits for temporary and special-event signs on nonresidential properties with a $30 flat fee per sign; council asked staff to clarify political signage enforcement and to run outreach in English and Spanish.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6616586,"Thornton staff recommends zoning limits, safety requirements for state-authorized natural-medicine healing centers",1514,1618000,3132000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2851712-c024c22942712ce52357392a45ca877e&start=1618&end=3132","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2851712-c024c22942712ce52357392a45ca877e/thumbnail_1618000.jpg","/articles/6616586/Thornton-City/Adams-County/Colorado/Thornton-staff-recommends-zoning-limits-safety-requirements-for-state-authorized-natural-medicine-healing-centers","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6616586-9add9e411e204befb99c07fd281041fc/orig.mp4?Expires=1771185267&Signature=BMWsiCa1aGd7I2WMLs0MUrcGhX7SRRUt04ct-pDLpNhwnuB1RH3WPsQm9h~eFQ-YN4pbwXQXLSMYSN8NIy4nHA4wkqSEqENA3~2pnHs5Kt-eLuFp6Bffy-KQpGU1ie~wyr3zH-BAEeN3hBhGDb0BXqrddpsqr8fcElsaf838gE7FFnI8CcGaE5CmgXXcI9BG0QGdIMDZq6IxermHtmcJ436sAkUHikWel-KbbMz6Wfg2Pmp88ojkGYB9E-EOliJ8lbvk0xRWAOhsfMAhVwf~~1xyrcV94Hi7vkbcD46QypxwZmrm9XAxx0pFKeezgX5DuI0~bmsduAmgzFxIOve4Ag__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City Development staff briefed the Thornton City Council on April 1 about local regulatory options for state-authorized natural-medicine uses such as healing centers and manufacturing facilities.

Ty Robbins of City Development summarized the state background: Proposition 122 (2022) established a regulated natural-medicine program and subsequent state legislation and rules set licensing and operational standards, including that healing centers must be 1,000 feet from licensed daycares and schools and cannot share premises with liquor or marijuana licenses. Robbins said the state regulates facilitators (licensed individuals who administer treatments) through the Department of Regulatory Agencies and that the Colorado Department of Revenue’s Natural Medicine Division licenses businesses.

Staff proposed code changes intended to augment state rules without conflicting with state law. Staff recommended limiting healing centers to Thornton’s primary commercial districts (neighborhood commercial, general commercial, regional commercial and business park), maintaining the 1,000-foot separation from schools and daycares, adding enhanced exterior lighting requirements, odor mitigation, and a local requirement for safe disposal of products and byproducts. Staff recommended against imposing fixed hours of operation because doing so could force someone to leave while still under the effects of a medicine or unduly limit access for working residents. For manufacturing uses (cultivation, manufacturing, testing), staff recommended limiting those to the business park district with similar setbacks and design requirements.

Amelia Myers, a representative from the state Natural Medicine Division who joined online, confirmed to council that the state does not impose a tax on either natural medicine products or the services provided at healing centers. Robbins said no healing centers currently operate in Colorado and that the city retains the ability to revisit local rules if impacts materialize once facilities open.

Councilmembers asked about signage differentiation, separation between healing centers, and enforcement. City legal staff cautioned that local ordinances must not be “unreasonable” or conflict with state law. Several councilmembers indicated support for staff’s recommendations. Staff will draft code language and present it as part of the upcoming development-code update for formal consideration.","Staff recommended limiting healing centers to primary commercial districts, maintaining state-required 1,000-foot school/daycare buffers, and adding local site-design and disposal requirements; state official confirmed no state-imposed tax on natural medicine services or products.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6616591,"Thornton staff seeks council OK to advance water revenue bonds, plans refunding of TDA bonds",164,1086000,1250000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2851712-c024c22942712ce52357392a45ca877e&start=1086&end=1250","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2851712-c024c22942712ce52357392a45ca877e/thumbnail_1086000.jpg","/articles/6616591/Thornton-City/Adams-County/Colorado/Thornton-staff-seeks-council-OK-to-advance-water-revenue-bonds-plans-refunding-of-TDA-bonds","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6616591-fa2928604c6026eed81c0873cb12ec8e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771185267&Signature=XgAe1ioRai8N9QyMmW2bmCEy1GjzmBPbuvbzl0DUokgDXZYMOkeoV9mU~DUvf7NRaZgVLL3VfLjuf5m7sgvWoA9MhF7jJSuDMZ8NbFD6w878-JLxZqPIXW2rCwiX20PdQsvHs1REDHvwRZ11UmnBSy6I36N6NUM1CHPEM1B5IgW96AQZmaDfEqYjBh5QY3TeMLonyn5bD6FfeLLKD9TTSnB0IKqLSm73q7cekQasrdoMRY8723XObpXDU9lmtj~w2yExVIeKAGWRYe-MZduX7T0GCBRso5nNUqiqk2P1mDg5Tt61nqvr0ESlOyZPB7gg9Y6IJCgLcztXLkjuzTMmrA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Thornton’s finance director briefed the City Council on April 1 about plans to seek authorization to prepare water revenue bonds tied to the Thornton Water Project and to refund tax increment (TDA) bonds issued in 2015.

Finance Director Kim Newhart described the water-related borrowing as primarily intended to fund PFAS mitigation and other Thornton Water Project needs. Newhart told the council staff’s current estimate for PFAS-related costs is about $250,000,000 and that would result in an annual commitment to the city of roughly $16,000,000 (as stated during the session). Newhart said staff plans to return to council on April 8 with a resolution of reimbursement — a procedural item that would not itself issue bonds but would allow the city to reimburse certain expenditures from bond proceeds when debt is later sold.

Newhart described the timing and approval process for municipal debt: staff works with municipal advisors, outside bond counsel, and rating agencies; council would be asked later (potentially in late 2026) to approve an ordinance of parameters that sets the execution limits for a bond sale. For the TDA Hundred And 40 Fourth bonds issued in 2015, Newhart said the city has reached the bonds’ call date and can refinance those bonds without extending the maturity, which can produce savings. Council touch points for the TDA refunding were identified for May 13 when staff will return with ordinance items.

Councilmembers asked how new borrowing would affect water rates. Newhart said the city models debt-coverage ratios and currently expects that modest, average annual increases (roughly 3% inflationary increases in modeling) would be sufficient to meet coverage requirements. She said the two recent 11% rate increases the council approved previously were intended to help meet coverage requirements related to the Thornton Water Project and that a similar second 11% increase could be requested later this summer depending on final PFAS cost estimates. Newhart emphasized the bonds discussed would be water-revenue bonds backed by the water enterprise and would not impact the general fund.

Council did not object to staff preparing the required documents and returning with formal reimbursement and parameters ordinances on the schedule provided.

Staff indicated additional budget amendments might be needed later to cover issuance costs depending on the final structure of the financing.","Finance director presented proposals to prepare water revenue bonds tied to PFAS mitigation and to refinance TDA bonds issued in 2015; council voiced questions about long-term rate impacts and asked staff to proceed to bring ordinances and parameters to future meetings.",{"_33":112,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":113,"_41":114,"_43":115,"_45":116,"_47":117,"_49":118,"_51":119,"_53":120,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":121,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":122,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6616596,"Thornton council approves majority of youth-event funding requests, holds one nonprofit request for more information",755,27000,782000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2851712-c024c22942712ce52357392a45ca877e&start=27&end=782","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2851712-c024c22942712ce52357392a45ca877e/thumbnail_27000.jpg","/articles/6616596/Thornton-City/Adams-County/Colorado/Thornton-council-approves-majority-of-youth-event-funding-requests-holds-one-nonprofit-request-for-more-information","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6616596-f0387f9f4e5e0d9cf8753c91c6d24fd9/orig.mp4?Expires=1771185267&Signature=BSiGPIssZn~2VOIm~0aUZoyZ~NncuSuu-FQtVY8NA4AMQDi~Fg3jKISYrFrNVpJx0Op8xT7-HJn63N3Inne2jupDCQBup2rZo~J9JNHNw0YPVdcjzc-P0rjHsNQy6MaO4PBAJg72i3gCSa84js2k-NJaE7l7u1-ktd5dBb4Jq5CivtYnkQMHcl5peLsI7VrkwZulllspT1On3wibnZnWmpsEjbSD2raopZ11LUCROqWvU-twieI~CY6MrSqsgoo~5A-C0xKuH0CEtJe-8~YbeaBKtwYTIbYQiQlEu-bFBmd5yM9iNTRw2FBo-~K9fG7VK-xq7CE342TVcOoNFF~PyA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a planning session April 1, the Thornton City Council directed staff to move forward with most applications to the city’s youth event funding program while asking for additional information about one nonprofit’s local service levels.

City staff member Joy Tan told the council that six youth-event funding applications and three nonprofit sponsorship requests were in the packet. The youth applications included teams from Stargate (four team-level requests at $600 each), a Future Business Leaders of America student at Riverdale Ridge High School seeking state-level competition support in Aurora, and a DECA team seeking funding to attend a competition in Orlando, Florida. Nonprofit requests included Laradine (staff spelled several variants; organization serves people with disabilities in the Denver metro area), Rocky Mountain Partnership and two Growing Home events — a golf classic and a gala called Empowering Change.

The council discussed earlier budget guidance that aimed to limit sponsorships to one event per organization per year to keep within the youth-event funding budget. Joyce (city staff) told council that, previously, “city council approved 15,000 out of 25” (as spoken during the meeting) and that “the request here is for 10.” Councilmembers emphasized a preference to fund organizations with a demonstrated Thornton beneficiary count.

After discussion, the council directed staff to approve the six youth-event funding requests and to proceed with sponsorship of Rocky Mountain Partnership. For Growing Home, council agreed to sponsor the gala rather than the golf classic so that the city would be supporting one event for that organization this year. Councilmembers asked staff to follow up with Laradine to obtain documentation of how many Thornton residents the organization serves before deciding whether to sponsor that event.

Councilmembers noted the youth events often include follow-up thank-you visits that showcase programs to the council and that the program has generated steady interest from local schools. Staff said additional smaller applications (around $2,500) may arrive later in the summer and that the city’s remaining youth-event budget was expected to be limited.

Council did not take a formal roll-call vote on these items during the planning session; instead it provided direction to staff to bring formal actions back to a future meeting as needed.

Looking ahead, staff will contact Laradine for more specific residency data and will prepare formal sponsorship documents or agenda items for any approved grants or sponsorships.","Council directed staff to sponsor multiple youth event requests including student travel and local nonprofit events, approved Growing Home’s gala (not the golf classic) and Rocky Mountain Partnership support, and deferred a decision on an unfamiliar nonprofit pending resident counts.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Adams County and Thornton update council on Healthy Farmers Market sustainability, ARPA vouchers through 2026

Thornton to require permits, $30 flat fee for nonresidential temporary and special-event signage; council asks for clarifications on political signs

Thornton staff recommends zoning limits, safety requirements for state-authorized natural-medicine healing centers

Thornton staff seeks council OK to advance water revenue bonds, plans refunding of TDA bonds

Thornton council approves majority of youth-event funding requests, holds one nonprofit request for more information