{"id":1319457,"date":"2020-04-15T12:57:29","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T18:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vaildaily.com\/?p=476689"},"modified":"2020-04-16T08:07:55","modified_gmt":"2020-04-16T14:07:55","slug":"vail-eagle-county-officials-are-starting-to-look-at-reopening-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/vail-eagle-county-officials-are-starting-to-look-at-reopening-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"Vail, Eagle County officials are starting to look at reopening plans"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.vaildaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/10\/WalkingMountainsTip-VDW-092818-2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.vaildaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/10\/WalkingMountainsTip-VDW-092818-2.jpg 620w, https:\/\/cdn.vaildaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/10\/WalkingMountainsTip-VDW-092818-2-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/cdn.vaildaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2018\/10\/WalkingMountainsTip-VDW-092818-2-325x216.jpg 325w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\"><figcaption><strong>Opening events such as the Vail Farmers Market will take a go-ahead from public health officials.<\/strong><br \/><em>Max Phannenstiel | Daily file photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The Vail Valley\u2019s economy came to a near-shutdown in a matter of days due to the COVID-19 virus. It\u2019s going to take a while to rev up the economic engine when it\u2019s safe to go out again.<\/p>\n<p>Almost from the beginning of the outbreak, people in the valley have been talking about ways to reopen. It\u2019s still too soon to hang the \u201copen\u201d sign on our figurative storefront, but people are looking at ways to help revive the economy while maintaining public safety.<\/p>\n<p>Eagle County\u2019s economic recovery team is led by longtime sustainable communities director Adam Palmer.<\/p>\n<p>In the first couple of weeks of the outbreak, Palmer said he and other county and town employees, along with public health officials, were \u201cgrappling with a rush of new information every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row vail-donation vail-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.vaildaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/03\/VD-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.vaildaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/03\/VD-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.vaildaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/03\/vail-banner-paypal.jpg)\" class=\"col-xl-8 p-3 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vaildaily.com\/donate\/?utm_source=article&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_campaign=donation&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_content=mid-article\">Donate<\/a><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In those early days \u2014 all of a month ago now \u2014 Palmer said the local government response was more about reacting to changing circumstances.<\/p>\n<p>That team is still dealing with immediate needs. Palmer said more than 70 county employees are working to process more than 2,900 applications through the county\u2019s emergency relief fund.<\/p>\n<h3>Starting again<\/h3>\n<p>But thinking is starting to turn to ways to restart the local economy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve survived, but we took a gut punch,\u201d Vail Valley Partnership President Chris Romer said.<\/p>\n<p>The valley\u2019s chamber of commerce has been involved in group discussions about economic revival.<\/p>\n<p>Romer said the current planning has three levels: Connecting residents and businesses to resources; looking into the world over the next six to nine months; and ensuring businesses are viable and \u201ccan reopen in a meaningful way,\u201d Romer said.<\/p>\n<p>The first part of any reopening strategy is going to hinge on when public health officials determine it\u2019s safe for businesses to reopen and people to go out again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to give assurances to visitors we\u2019re doing everything by the book,\u201d Romer said.<\/p>\n<h3>Can we gather?<\/h3>\n<p>But opening is going to look different for a restaurant or retail shop than it will for events including the Vail Farmers Market or Avon\u2019s Salute to the USA.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe concern is\u2026 we don\u2019t want to put public health at risk,\u201d Palmer said.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s going to require a steady decrease in new cases reported in Eagle County, as well as having widely available testing. As it has been elsewhere, testing has \u201cbeen one of our biggest challenges,\u201d Palmer said.<\/p>\n<p>Palmer said Vail Health has been a \u201cgreat\u201d partner in the efforts to reopen the county.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we do a phased approach, and non-essential businesses can meet safe distancing requirements,\u201d that will be part of the valley\u2019s reopening, Palmer said.<\/p>\n<p>Given the valley\u2019s dependence on events, when people can gather again is an essential part of reopening.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole idea of bringing people together is something everybody\u2019s asking about,\u201d Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater manager Tom Boyd said. The plan for the Vail Valley Foundation, which operates the amphitheater, is to work with organizations from the Bravo! Colorado Music Festival to the Vail Children\u2019s Chorale so those groups can operate in concert regarding events.<\/p>\n<p>But, Boyd said, it\u2019s still too early to talk about what events might be postponed and what events might be canceled for this year.<\/p>\n<p>But the ability to host events is just one part of the reopening formula.<\/p>\n<p>Since Eagle County was one of Colorado\u2019s early hot spots, the valley may have a perception problem as a place that isn\u2019t safe to visit.<\/p>\n<p>Vail Town Manager Scott Robson acknowledged that hurdle, especially for those who come to the valley from outside the state.<\/p>\n<p>Robson said town of Vail officials have been working with other regional officials about strategies and tactics that might allow those marketing the valley to stress safety along with the valley being a desirable place to visit.<\/p>\n<p>Robson noted that Eagle County has now tested more people per capita than anywhere else in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, he said, officials are looking at some innovative ways to welcome back Colorado residents first, then those from other states and nations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHopefully that can be translated into an economic recovery sooner (than other locations),\u201d Robson said.<\/p>\n<p>All this is early, of course. Still, Robson and Palmer said recent discussions have provided some glimmers of what\u2019s to come after the virus outbreak eases.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels too soon for optimism, but it\u2019s never too soon for hope,\u201d Robson said. \u201cThis week you hear that sense of hope.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Vail Daily Business Editor Scott Miller can be reached at <a href=\"mailto:smiller@vaildaily.com\">smiller@vaildaily.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vaildaily.com\/news\/vail-eagle-county-officials-are-starting-to-look-at-reopening-plans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Vail Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Opening events such as the Vail Farmers Market will take a go-ahead from public health officials.Max Phannenstiel | Daily file photo The Vail Valley\u2019s economy came to a near-shutdown in a matter of days due to the COVID-19 virus. It\u2019s going to take a while to rev up the economic engine when it\u2019s safe to [&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":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1319457","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-08 07:30:30","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":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1319457"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1319480,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1319457\/revisions\/1319480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1319457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1319457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1319457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}