The Carefree Town Council voted unanimously to approve a pilot Town Center Facade Program that will reimburse property owners for eligible exterior improvements at up to 15% of project cost, capped at $15,000 per project.

The program targets properties inside the town’s Village Center Redevelopment Plan and is intended to encourage storefront and building‑level improvements that increase retail activity, pedestrian safety and sales‑tax revenue in the town center.

Town staff presented the program as the result of a multi‑year planning process that began with early design guidance and studies (including a 2013 ASTAP study and the Village Center Master Plan) and was refined by the Economic Development Advisory Board, planning staff and public feedback. The program will operate as a quarterly, reimbursable grant beginning with the new fiscal year in July; applicants will submit proposed scopes, budgets and timelines and will be reimbursed after approved work is completed and validated.

Under the approved rules, property owners (including owners of multi‑tenant buildings) are eligible; each project may receive up to 15% of total project costs with a maximum $15,000 grant per project. The program allows applicants to group adjacent properties (for example, contiguous sidewalks or coordinated building work) so co‑owned projects can be treated as multiple eligible projects. Permit fees and certain compliance work — including work to make a property ADA compliant — were listed as reimbursable items in the program materials.

"This the concept of a facade program or public involvement into the refurbishment, revitalization, and making the town center look better has actually been around since 1986," town staff member Mister Propek said during the presentation. He described the program as a cautious pilot intended to test whether modest public incentives can leverage private investment in the town center.

Several council members and staff emphasized that the document was drafted conservatively to limit risk for public funds and that attorneys had reviewed the program language. Council members also discussed administrative details: applications will be accepted quarterly, a review committee (staff, the mayor or designee, and a planning‑commission/EDAB designee) will score projects, and applicants may reapply every two years.

"I would like to add more money to it if I could," a councilmember said, expressing concern that the 15% cap and the $15,000 ceiling might not be large enough to motivate substantial rehabilitation of some buildings. Other councilmembers and staff responded that the program is intended as a pilot and that the town can reassess funding and program parameters after the first quarter of awards.

The council also discussed compliance language in the program. Staff clarified that the town does not intend to bar out‑of‑compliance properties from applying; rather, projects must result in work that complies with applicable town codes, and the grant can be used to help bring buildings into compliance. "If someone is not ADA compliant today, we can use this money. If they make an application, we approve it to become ADA compliant," a councilmember explained.

Before the vote the mayor urged council members to encourage landlords to participate and offered staff help with pre‑application meetings to reduce applicant burden. Council members thanked the planning and economic advisory boards for several months of review and recommended outreach to known property owners to promote the first quarterly window.

A motion to approve the Town Center Facade Program as presented carried unanimously. The council noted the program’s funding is included in the town’s economic development operational budget rather than capital funds and that staff will return with implementation details and any recommended adjustments following early rounds of applications.

What happens next: staff will begin accepting applications in the first quarter after the new fiscal year opens in July; the review committee will score and select projects at the end of each quarter; successful projects will receive reimbursement after completion and submission of proof of payment and a town validation inspection.

Speakers quoted or cited in this article include only those identified in the meeting record.