Mayor's Message: Boards in motion

by Mayor Gary Hall

Thanks to all of you who will vote in the three upcoming special district board elections on May 6.

And thanks to those of you who choose to run for the different boards in town. Without abundant civic participation, Estes Park would not benefit from the breadth of opinion and depth of wisdom that is needed for good progress.

We need you now for several other board and commission positions: the Planning Commission, the Housing Authority, the Board of Adjustment, and the Transportation Advisory Board. You can click here to contact the Town Clerk’s office for information about applying. Estes Park needs you.

There’s a lot of board action in town right now. Fortunately, we have many strong candidates stepping up. Diversity of membership and change of membership over time is good for Estes. “Diversity” doesn’t just mean cultural and ethnic variety. It can include differences in occupational background, age, gender, perspective, personality, and more.

There are several Larimer County special tax districts that are holding elections on May 6. These special tax districts are of high importance to residents and visitors alike but are not overseen by the Town of Estes Park. Operations of these service organizations run best when overseen by strong, transparent boards.

The Park Hospital District Board (Estes Park Health) has five candidates of varying backgrounds, three of whom I worked with during my long tenure at the hospital (2005-2023).

During my years at EPH, I worked with ten different administrations and, through them all, one of my mantras was that “communication is everything.” We have some very skilled folks to choose from for that board: adept in medicine, quality, finances, operations – and all of them seem to value good, open communication.

I strongly support wrapping up the deal with UCHealth. Even if some concessions must be made to UCHealth, there’s nothing more important for EPH’s long-term stability and effective operations than getting that deal done.

There will be hard times again, and the financial health and enlightened management of UCHealth will be critical when those times come. Think of capital projects of the future, maintenance of equipment, and upkeep on EPH’s various properties: medicine is the core service, but first, you have to keep the doors open and the equipment working.

The Estes Valley Fire Protection District also has a great slate of candidates, nine for five seats, including a past fire chief and an incumbent board member, but also some others with varied backgrounds who will hopefully mesh together to re-strengthen the group.

That board has had some ups and downs in recent months and years. It’s time to put a strong, open team together, with eyes wide open to the issues of the past. Several candidates have firefighting experience, there are a couple of legal eagles, and there are some who bring great business backgrounds.

Then there’s the Estes Valley Recreation and Parks District, with three fine candidates for two seats, including one who currently serves on that board. I enjoyed the comment in the Estes Valley Voice: “The three candidates expressed respect for one another…and all three said they were not running ‘against’ the other candidates but were running to serve the community.” Good to hear!

The Visit Estes Park Board is challenged right now, with one of my fellow trustees raising strong concerns about governance. At some not-too-distant future date, there will be a combined meeting of the Larimer Board of County Commissioners and our Town Board (a total of ten officials) considering the issues. The VEP board responded, and you can read all about those exchanges in the local media.

I will work to ensure that this process will be run respectfully for all involved. I have spent a lot of time learning about the