The Routt County Board of Commissioners said Tuesday the county will leave the Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado.
Each of the Routt County commissioners said the group no longer effectively represents the views and interests of the county, and the other programs it facilitates for the county could be replaced.
“I don’t think that the membership of the organization aligns with the views of Routt County and the residents and best interests of Routt County going forward,” said Commissioner Beth Melton. “I don’t think there is any way around that.”
Commissioners have foreshadowed this decision for a few weeks, making strong statements against the lobbying efforts and their experience working with the group. The main issue for commissioners is the group’s support to preserve mineral extraction and energy production in Northwest Colorado, a goal they believe the county does not share and is sometimes lobbying against.
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS New cases of COVID-19 in Routt County declined this week, but counties that are home to destination ski resorts continue to have much higher case incidence than Colorado as a whole.
The previous seven days saw 109 new cases, down from a record 170 new cases the week prior. While cases are decreasing, health officials said Wednesday during the weekly Routt County Board of Health meeting that it is too early to call it a trend, and test positivity remains above 8% locally.
“Are we moving in the right direction? Maybe,” Routt County epidemiologist Nicole Harty said. “While this most recent week is lower, it is still quite high in comparison to where we want to be.”
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS The Routt County Board of Commissioners passed a new public health order Monday, hoping to stave off more COVID-19 cases that could require even harsher restrictions locally.
The new order, which will be in effect until March 1 unless commissioners change it before then, requires restaurants to take additional mitigation measures, lowers capacity limits in offices and limits any social gatherings to just one residence.
It also includes language that requires short-term rentals to be limited to people from just one residence, potentially affecting reservations currently on the books for some businesses.
The new order is in response to the most severe surge in cases the county has ever seen, a spike seen in several other resort communities in the state, but one that bucks the trend in Front Range communities where cases have been declining.
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS About 1,900 people will have received COVID-19 vaccinations by the end of the week, said Routt County Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brian Harrington at Wednesday’s Board of Health meeting. That represents about 7% of the county’s population.
“We keep inching up, but remain limited on supply and factors beyond our control,” Harrington said.
Routt County Director of Public Health Roberta Smith became emotional as she talked about the demand continuing to far outweigh the supply.
With the majority of health care workers, long-term care staff and residents, and first responders now vaccinated, the focus is on people who are 70 and older.
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS The Routt County Board of Health will wait to sign off on the 5-Star certification program’s application to state health officials until the county has had two sustained weeks within the metrics for level orange on the state’s dial framework.
In order to receive state approval, the application needs to have a letter of support from the local public health authority as well as other community members. The letter from the board is the last piece of the application.
While businesses can currently apply to start the certification process, the county is not eligible for the benefits of the program until the two-week case totals drop below 89. With cases increasing locally, now up to 156 cases in the last two weeks, it will likely be weeks until the county qualifies for the program.