{"id":2457010,"date":"2020-04-10T00:56:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-10T06:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-electeds-make-historic-vote-for-5m-covid-19-emergency-relief-stimulus-package\/"},"modified":"2020-04-10T00:56:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-10T06:56:00","slug":"aspen-electeds-make-historic-vote-for-5m-covid-19-emergency-relief-stimulus-package","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/aspen-electeds-make-historic-vote-for-5m-covid-19-emergency-relief-stimulus-package\/","title":{"rendered":"Aspen electeds make historic vote for $5M COVID-19 emergency relief, stimulus package"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In a historic and unprecedented move, Aspen City Council on Thursday initially appropriated $6 million in emergency relief and an economic stimulus package from Aspen to Parachute for local residents, workers in the valley and area businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Council, during a special meeting, approved on first reading an emergency ordinance that earmarks money coming out of the city\u2019s housing development fund, the Kids\u2019 First child care fund and the general fund.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Council stopped short of approving an interfund advance from the Wheeler Opera House Fund to the city\u2019s general fund because the dollar amount changed after a suggestion by Councilwoman Rachel Richards to increase it by $1 million.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Council originally had a $5 million package in mind but Richards got a majority of her colleagues to tentatively agree to $6 million. That would change the borrowing amount from the Wheeler from $2.5 million to $3.5 million. A final vote is expected Tuesday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/at-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.aspentimes.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 class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI think the (number is too low) to accomplish all the things we had hoped to accomplish,\u201d Richards said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Mayor Torre agreed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI\u2019m supportive of it at this time,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to make sure that we are putting both feet down firmly here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Council also passed a resolution that <a id=\"N0x2040d30N0x20423b0:N0x2040d30N0x2003380\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/city-of-aspen-building-5m-coronavirus-economic-relief-and-stimulus-package\/\">approves a multi-pronged objectives and outcomes document<\/a> that centers around increasing the economic security for vulnerable people by securing shelter, food, utilities, health care, child care and transportation, as well as working proactively to minimize further economic disruption and actively encourage recovery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The money will cover everything from rent and mortgage relief for local workers and residents to child care subsidies for working families to possible bridge loans or grants to Aspen businesses, along with costs associated with disease testing and personal protective equipment for health care workers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Council last month approved $200,000 that went into <a id=\"N0x2040d30N0x2042410:N0x2040d30N0x2003530\" href=\"https:\/\/pitkincounty.com\/1319\/COVID-19-Relief\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pitkin County\u2019s relief fund<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i>, which began with $1.3 million and has seen over 1,200 applicants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The city\u2019s relief fund will be funded with $1.5 million from the housing development fund, and $1 million from the Kids First child care fund; both have reserves to cover the expenditures, according to city officials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Because the general fund doesn\u2019t have sufficient fund balances, Council is planning to borrow from the Wheeler Opera House fund, which has roughly $33 million in it and is funded by real estate transfer taxes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It will have to be paid back over 10 years at an interest rate between 0.3% and 0.62%.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Torre sent a letter this week to Gov. Jared Polis, as well as to Colorado representatives in the state house, Congress and the U.S. Senate, urging the governor to fairly distribute federal stimulus money and not forget rural mountain communities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The letter states that the city wants to ensure local governments are reimbursed for all COVID-19 related expenses, including financial assistance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cAs we engage and collaborate with surrounding Western Slope counties, the city of Aspen looks forward to engaging with Governor Polis with a clear understanding on how the equitable distribution of funds from the federal stimulus package will trickle down to our cities and counties,\u201d he wrote. \u201cSimilar to the effort to put checks in the hands of every American, consider allowing the locally elected governing body to put that money to use according to each city\u2019s needs and priorities based on population.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The third phase of the federal stimulus package, known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), provides for $150 billion in aid to states and local governments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It\u2019s estimated that Colorado will receive $2.2 billion, but only municipal governments with populations over 500,000 receive payment directly from the federal government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It\u2019s up to the governor\u2019s office on how dole out the remaining funds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWithout a clear understanding of what financial aid may be coming from the state of Colorado, it is imperative that we exercise our fiduciary responsibility by holding back adequate financial reserves to maintain essential services in the future,\u201d wrote City Manager Sara Ott <a id=\"N0x2040d30N0x20424d0:N0x2040d30N0x2003b60\" href=\"https:\/\/d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net\/cityofaspen\/7128273e-75ea-11ea-99b9-0050569183fa-da76106a-2e02-4fe6-bbb2-ae71e53e957b-1586190390.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in a memo to Council<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i> in advance of its vote Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">She elaborated more in an interview Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThere\u2019s no guarantee that small communities will get money,\u201d she said. \u201cWe hope the state finds a fair way that the Western Slope doesn\u2019t lose out to the Front Range.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI\u2019m really concerned,\u201d she added. \u201cEvery member of the community should care about this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The city is embarking on the economic relief package as the municipal government braces for an estimated revenue shortfall of nearly $13 million in lodging and sales tax revenues this year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">That\u2019s based off a projected reduction of $277 million in the sales and lodging tax base as a result of <a id=\"N0x2040d30N0x2042530:N0x2040d30N0x2003ec0\" href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1dXyZTTICG07_C7fHk04iKi8ZwbDlPtT0\/view\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">public health orders<\/a><i class=\"fas fa-external-link-alt\"><\/i> that closed all non-essential businesses and ordered people to stay at home in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">State Sen. Kerry Donovan, who\u2019s based in Vail and represents District 5, which includes Pitkin County, said she sent her own letter to Gov. Polis urging that he prioritize federal funding for mountain towns and rural communities because of the abrupt economic hit they took when ski areas were shut down starting March 15, and other neighboring municipalities that don\u2019t have robust budgets to weather the crisis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI think \u2018hey we are over here\u2019 is very important now because the mountain West and rural Colorado doesn\u2019t seem to be at the forefront of economic relief,\u201d she said Thursday. \u201cI think Aspen putting up its own money is a testament. \u2026 Bravo to them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:csackariason@aspentimes.com\">csackariason@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/aspen-electeds-make-historic-vote-for-5m-covid-19-emergency-relief-stimulus-package\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a historic and unprecedented move, Aspen City Council on Thursday initially appropriated $6 million in emergency relief and an economic stimulus package from Aspen to Parachute for local residents, workers in the valley and area businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. Council, during a special meeting, approved on first reading an [&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":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2457010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 05:06:24","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":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2457010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2457010\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2457010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2457010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2457010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}