COVID-19 Community Partners and Resources

Accelerated Recovery Team

The Accelerated Recovery Team (ART) is one of four Town-led teams working on COVID-19 recovery. ART is focused on planning for a quick recovery after the end of physical distancing orders implemented by the State and County. The group is focused on sharing resources with each other and the business community; and strategizing specific ways to support a faster and more robust economic recovery.

Members of the ART include: Town of Estes Park, Estes Park Economic Development Corporation (EDC), Estes Park Chamber of Commerce, Visit Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, YMCA of the Rockies and the Estes Valley Area Lodging Association. 

ART began meeting on March 30 and its members have worked and collaboratively on several initiatives to support business and economic recovery in the Estes Valley, including:

•    Hosting a virtual Town Hall for business with over 150 participants. Representatives from the Town, Chamber, EDC and Larimer County Small Business Development Center and Workforce Development presented and answered questions.

•    The Town, Chamber and Estes Park Police Department are hosting a multi-week webinar series designed to provide tools for recognizing and understanding the emotional and physiological impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Each week, speakers will focus on a different topic area, all meant to support and nurture our relationships with ourselves and each other during this unprecedented event. The first webinar topic will be “Navigating the Emotional & Physical Impact of Grief” takes place April 15. 

•    The EDC and Town of Estes Park are partnering to help connect businesses in need with local business advisors. Advisors can help provide guidance and support for businesses in the Estes Valley who are facing a variety of questions and/or challenges as a result of COVID-19.

•    Visit Estes Park will be hosting a “communication clearinghouse” website that pulls local resources and information together in one location. The site will provide links to the latest Federal, State, County and Local public health information, information on human services (e.g., housing, food, child care, mental health), volunteer and donation opportunities, business recovery resources and more.

Community Relief Team

In a very short period of time the COVID-19 coronavirus has had a major impact on the residents and businesses in the Estes Valley, and the end is not yet in sight. After learning about some of the challenges faced by members of our community, the Town of Estes Park Board of Trustees appropriated $250,000 for community relief efforts focused on needs related to food insecurity, housing, and support for local businesses and organizations. The goal is to disperse these funds to local partners whose organizations address these needs and can demonstrate how the funds will be used to address challenges resulting from the impacts of COVID-19. Community Relief Team (CRT) was established by the Town of Estes Park and is comprised of members from the Estes Chamber of Commerce, Estes Park Economic Development Corporation (EDC), Estes Park Housing Authority and Estes Park Nonprofit Resource Center. The team reviewed requests and made funding recommendations to the Town Administrator. 

The funds have been dispersed as follows:

$28,000 to the Estes Park Nonprofit Resource Center and American Legion Post 119 to address food insecurity through the preparation and distribution of meals.

$27,000 to Crossroads Ministry to provide food, temporary lodging or housing assistance to prevent eviction or foreclosure, and transportation assistance. 

Town of Estes Park Community Relief Fund Application Instructions

$150,000 to the Estes Park Economic Development Corporation and Estes Chamber of Commerce for small business assistance (to assist with employee retention and meeting payroll and overhead obligations such as rent payments, utilities, and insurance)

$25,000 to the Estes Park Housing Authority to provide rent relief for tenants with demonstrated financial need. The Housing Authority is matching this amount, so the total value in rent relief will be at least $50,000.

3/17/20 Estes Park Health has set up a landing page at eph.org to help our community understand how we are reacting to the continually changing COVID-19 information. All Estes Park Health press releases are under About Us/News at eph.org. Estes Park Health is continually working to update our processes to serve the health care needs of the Estes Valley community. A COVID-19 hotline has been established at 970-577-4400.

3/26/20 - The Estes Park EDC has created a resource page for those businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The information on this page will be upated daily or as new information is available. The resource page can be found at https://www.estesparkedc.com/covid-19-business-resource-center. Please continue to reach out to Adam Shake at ashake@estesparkedc.com with specific questions or if you need additional resources. 

4/6/20 Estes Park School District will adhere to LCDHE recommendations and close to in-person learning for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. At this time, the district is exploring options for graduation, events, end of year processes such as turning in equipment and supplies, as well as for families to retrieve their belongings from the buildings. The health department models are showing a surge in the next three to four weeks, and distancing and adhereing to the stay-at-home orders will be critical. Schools will continue with remote learning plans to continue to drive instruction and support for families. Updates can be found at www.estesschools.org/parentcommunications.

3/23/2020 YMCA of the Rockies is closed to all guest operations from March 17 through at least April 30 with evaluation as that date gets closer. The YMCA property is closed to all recreation and only open to essential staff. The YMCA of the Rockies is offering a childcare program for those in the first responder and healthcare fields. Updates can be found on the YMCA of the Rockies website: https://blog.ymcarockies.org/covid-19-preparations/

3/26/20 In alignment with the State of Colorado and Larimer County stay-at-home orders and with non-essential travel discouraged by public health agencies, Visit Estes Park has posted statements discouraging travel to Estes Park. Please visit www.visitestespark.com to learn more. 

As of 7 p.m. March 20, Rocky Mountain National Park is closed to all park visitors until further notice, 24-hours a day/7-days a week. There will be no access permitted to Rocky Mountain National Park. Visit https://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm for more information.

March 25, 2020 – EVRPD Facility Closures – In response to the threat of novel coronavirus and in accordance with county and state “stay-at-home” directives, all Estes Valley Recreation and Park District (EVRPD) enterprise facilities are closed until further notice. Please understand that these plans are tentative and subject to change due to the possibility of further mandates. In addition, operations at each facility upon re-opening will remain subject to the guidelines set forth by federal, state and local health professionals, as well as the EVRPD Board of Directors. For further updates regarding the status of all EVRPD facilities, please visit: https://evrpd.colorado.gov/ or www.facebook.com/evrpd

Until further notice, please respect these reserved times: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. only open for seniors (60+), those who are high risk, pregnant or those with disabilities. Aisles are one-way. Masks are required. There may be limits for purchases on certain meats, milk, eggs, water, paper products, sanitizers and disinfectants (subject to availability).

The Estes Park Nonprofit Resource Center has leveraged www.estesvolunteers.org to connect volunteers with those who need help. And, watch for pertinent updates on services from Estes Valley nonprofits at https://www.epnonprofit.org/covid-nonprofit-resources.html.

3/20/20-Special Meeting of the Board of Directors has been scheduled, for March 24, 2020, concerning the COVID-19. This meeting will be conducted virtually and for more information, please visit www.utsd.org

3/18/20- Upper Thompson Sanitation District remains commited to providing reliable customer service during this critical time. District offices and facilities will remain fully operational to conduct business: however, all offices are indefinitely closed to the public.If you have questions about services or billing, please call the District office at 970.586.4544. Please do not flush excessive chemicals down the drain. The chemicals adversely affect the wastewater facility’s microorganisms and treatment processes. Visit www.UTSD.org and Upper Thompson Sanitation District’s Facebook page for further communication regarding the District’s response to COVID-19.

03/19/20 The Estes Park Sanitation District maintains around 28 miles of sewer mainlines and to keep our system running smoothly, we need your help. Flush only toilet paper and waste. Wipes of any kind, facial tissues and paper towels do not break down in the sanitary waste, causing blockages in lines. Wipe off pots, plates and any dishes containing grease and dispose of it in the trash. Grease can build up on the walls of the sewer lines causing blockages. Our office is currently closed to the general public. Updates concerning our operations are available at estesparksanitation.org

3/26/20 EPHA has established the following actions for its program participants : 1) Payments can be deferred for the months of April and May (includes rent, down payment asisstance loan payments, HOA payments for the Pines Home Ownership). 2) Late fees will be waived for April and May. 3) All evictions action has been suspended. 4) Created and sent survey to it's residents to understand household impacts associated with COVID 19 (www.surveymonkey.com/r/EPHACOVID19SRV1). EPHA will continue to monitor the needs of its residents and program participants for changes. Updates and information can be found at EstesHousing.org or Estes Park Housing Authority's facebook page. Finally, EPHA will be making inquiries to other local housing businesses to learn what impacts they are noting. www.colorado.gov/esteshousing

March 27: While the Library building is closed, staff members are answering questions and providing assistance by phone (7 days a week), and by online chat, email, and Facebook. That includes reference questions for help with everything from identifying local services, to Census-related questions, to the right website for unemployment applications. Students can access online live-chat homework help. Residents can access Digital Collections. Live-stream storytimes are on the Library’s Facebook page, including recordings of recent programs. Library staff is checking in with clients in the homebound program on a regular basis to assure their welfare.Visit https://estesvalleylibrary.org/

March 30: The Chamber has hired a permanent full-time Executive Director, Donna Carlson (donna@esteschamber.org). With this addition to the team, we are able to commit Keith Pearson (former interim Executive Director) to COVID-19 business relief and recovery efforts. Keith is helping to bring business needs to the Community Relief Team, which is responsible for managing the Town's $250,000 Community Relief Fund. This effort is in addition to the Chamber's ongoing support of the business community and raising awareness of our local businesses that remain open through the #EstesParkDelivers Facebook page.