Dear Basalt Community,
It goes almost without saying that the current situation with COVID-19 is unprecedented in many of our lifetimes. It has been and will likely be a challenge that we will address together as a community. It will make us stronger, and we will learn many valuable lessons from this situation. First and foremost, we want each member of our community, their family members, friends and coworkers to stay safe and healthy.
Right now, the focus for the Basalt Town Council and staff is making sure that we have the resources and services necessary to maintain public safety and essential government functions, and that we address all situations quickly and professionally. We are working diligently to ensure this is happening, and we can say that the town of Basalt is open and doing its part in this emergency situation.
An important part of this commitment is working with our partner agencies, including both Eagle and Pitkin counties. Our counties have the public health and emergency management staff, training and resources to manage this type of health crisis. The town of Basalt continually works with our county partners, as well as following all guidelines from Gov. Polis, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), to implement public health directives so that we are practicing proper social distancing and flattening the curve to ensure that we reduce transmission and do not overwhelm our region’s health care system.
Over the past few days, our community members have asked important questions on the town’s Facebook page, including when and where testing is available and the capacity of our region’s hospital system. These are important questions, and they are being addressed. In the meantime, please contact the Aspen to Parachute COVID-19 Community Hotline at 970-429-6186 to address your concerns.
At this point, we do not have all the answers to our concerns about COVID-19. However, we are working continually to stay at the forefront of this situation and doing all we can to keep our community informed. Know that your Town Council and staff are working for each of you, our residents and business, to support our community through this difficult time.
Finally, the public is being directed to pitkincounty.com/gethelp or https://www.eaglecounty.us/EconomicServices/ for any and all financial, rental, food, and general assistance. There are supports in place within our community to help you through this.
In the coming months, we will move forward, and we will do it together. We will work as a community to support our local businesses and their employees. We will help our children return to school and play. And we will reconnect, as a community. As your Town Council and staff, we are committed and working to help Basalt and its residents through this.
Please be healthy and safe.
Mayor Jacque Whitsitt
Bill Infante, Jennifer Riffle, Auden Schendler, Katie Schwoerer, Ryan Slack and Gary Tennenbaum
Members, Basalt Town Council