{"id":806851,"date":"2020-04-27T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-27T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=382309"},"modified":"2020-04-27T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-27T23:00:00","slug":"frisco-bids-farewell-to-mayor-gary-wilkinson-after-12-years-with-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/frisco-bids-farewell-to-mayor-gary-wilkinson-after-12-years-with-council\/","title":{"rendered":"Frisco bids farewell to Mayor Gary Wilkinson after 12 years with council"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"p402_hide\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Wilkinson-SDN-042820-768x1024.jpg\" alt class=\"wp-image-382310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Wilkinson-SDN-042820-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Wilkinson-SDN-042820-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Wilkinson-SDN-042820-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Wilkinson-SDN-042820-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/04\/Wilkinson-SDN-042820-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\"><figcaption><strong>Frisco Mayor Gary Wilkinson is leaving office after 12 years with the Frisco Town Council. <\/strong><br \/><em>Courtesy photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>FRISCO \u2014 Frisco will bid farewell to Mayor Gary Wilkinson next week as the council swears in its newly elected members, marking an end to Wilkinson\u2019s 12 years of service as an elected official for the town.<\/p>\n<p>A New York native, Wilkinson first moved to Frisco with his family in 1966 and has been able to watch it mature from a far-flung mountain town to a fully realized community.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrisco is a real community now, with restaurants, businesses and diversity,\u201d Wilkinson said. \u201cWhen we moved here, we had to go outside the county for medical help or to go to the supermarket. It was a little isolated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the interstate went in, people started moving here. It was a big transition. But Frisco\u2019s been able to maintain its community feel and its small-town character. I\u2019m proud of that. I\u2019m proud of the people that have come and adopted this town as their own and who have gotten involved in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row sd-donation sd-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/03\/SDN-logo-white-1.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Wilkinson moved to Evergreen with his family in 1961 and took frequent trips up to Summit County to ski at Breckenridge Ski Resort in its inaugural season. Frequent $8 stays at the Frisco Lodge eventually gave way to their move to the town in 1966.<\/p>\n<p>Wilkinson graduated from Summit High School and earned a degree in mining engineering from Colorado School of Mines. He\u2019d go on to work at the Climax Mine into the mid-\u201980s before going into land surveying, a move he said first sparked his desire to get involved in government work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeeing how land is developed, zoning and all those things really got me interested in local government,\u201d Wilkinson said.<\/p>\n<p>He joined the Ten Mile Planning Commission and the countywide Planning Commission before being elected to the Frisco Town Council in 2008. He was elected to his first of two mayoral terms in 2012.<\/p>\n<p>During his time with the town, Wilkinson helped to complete a number of notable projects, including the creation of the <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Peak One Neighborhood (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/local\/frisco-peak-one-neighborhood-honored-with-housing-award\/\">Peak One Neighborhood<\/a>, the Basecamp Retail Center, and major upgrades to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/photos-friscos-remodeled-skate-park\/\">Peninsula Recreation Area<\/a> and the town\u2019s Main Street.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn a nutshell, he was the best mayor I ever worked with,\u201d said Bill Efting, Frisco\u2019s former town manager. \u201cWe had some really huge projects while I was there, and without Gary, I\u2019m not positive they would have happened or been so successful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those who worked with Wilkinson said he was mild mannered, lead by example and got along well with his fellow council members and town staff.<\/p>\n<p>Wilkinson also took the time to share his knowledge and wisdom from more than 50 years living in Frisco and to help groom the next generation of the town\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s inspiring to see his passion for the history of the town and his role in it,\u201d said Hunter Mortensen, a Frisco native who will be sworn in as mayor on Tuesday. \u201cHe\u2019s always had a good finger on the pulse of the community. Thinking about the different eras of the town, he knows parts of Frisco that I was never around for. It\u2019s always fun to hear him talk about those things. It\u2019s been great to be able to see that perspective and to have that context for where we are today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wilkinson is sticking around in Frisco and will remain active in the community as part of Denver Water\u2019s Citizen Advisory Committee, serving as Summit County surveyor and wherever else he can help.<\/p>\n<p>Though, his retirement from town government will give him a chance to take better advantage of life on the Western Slope. Wilkinson said he\u2019s looking forward to traveling and camping with his wife, Joyce, and spending time with his grandchildren. He continued to say that while he\u2019s looking forward to the next chapter, he would miss his spot at the head of the council chambers on occasion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI enjoyed being at the helm,\u201d Wilkinson said. \u201cI enjoyed the conversations and listening to the input from our citizens. I\u2019ll miss that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And while circumstances aren\u2019t ideal in Frisco, Summit County or the rest of the country due to myriad hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Wilkinson said Frisco is in a good position to emerge strong on the other side.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver the last eight years, we\u2019ve had almost unprecedented growth,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know it\u2019s not sustainable, but you never expect it to come to such an abrupt end. People are going to struggle. It\u2019s sad to see that happen in this community we\u2019ve all worked so hard on. But we\u2019ve been able to put Frisco in a good spot. We\u2019ve diversified our community, and that will pay off in the long run. \u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrisco has a lot going for it. It\u2019s a wonderful place, a wonderful town. It has a great group of citizens that love our town. And I think if we\u2019re patient and innovative, we will come out as strong as ever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/frisco-bids-farewell-to-mayor-gary-wilkinson-after-12-years-with-council\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Frisco Mayor Gary Wilkinson is leaving office after 12 years with the Frisco Town Council. Courtesy photo FRISCO \u2014 Frisco will bid farewell to Mayor Gary Wilkinson next week as the council swears in its newly elected members, marking an end to Wilkinson\u2019s 12 years of service as an elected official for the town. A [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-806851","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-12 21:12:53","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806851\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}