In their first meeting since UCHealth took over operations of Estes Park Health, the Park Hospital District Board met Thursday, Dec. 11 to approve the 2026 budget.

Cory Workman, who was elected to the Park Hospital Board in 2023, told his fellow Board members, “This is kind of like our first day in college, right? Like we’re in the Park Hospital District. We’re out on our own now, and we’re trying to figure out where to go, where’s the commissary, where’s the bookstore, and where do we buy ramen? Right? We’re trying to figure ourselves out here.”

In operation for over five decades, the Park Hospital District was established by voter approval in 1968. It raised funds and opened the doors of the Elizabeth Knutsson Memorial Hospital in 1975, which later became the Estes Park Medical Center in 1986. In 2018, the center changed its name to Estes Park Health.

In the 50-minute meeting, the PHD Board approved a budget and attended to a few other administrative duties, including approving a contract to hire an administrative assistant and approving a lease to office at Vert Co-working.

The Board also approved a motion to become a member of the Special District Association of Colorado, an organization that provides education and guidance to special district boards about governance and compliance, their fiduciary role, their responsibility to the voters, how to conduct special district elections, and Colorado’s Open Meetings and Open Records laws.

Board member Tom Leigh requested that items be added to the agenda, including a discussion of the need for the Board to hire an attorney who specializes in special district law and the need to provide Board members with access to the closing binder for the acquisition of EPH by UCH.

Workman, who serves as the Board chair, began a discussion about the district’s 2026 budget, explaining that “the budget that we’re going to present to you this evening reflects our kind of best guess estimates.”

A published budget statement on the District’s website explains that because the District transferred its hospital and ambulance licenses, its employees and assets to a new entity, UCHealth Estes Valley Medical Center, and “no longer operates a hospital and related healthcare activities… its budget for 2026 is substantially different from prior years.”

The balanced budget includes revenues of $4,650,132, which consists of $4,400,132 generated by a 7.505 mill levy, based on a valuation of properties in the District of $586,293,438 as determined by the County Assessor, plus $250,000 in ad valorem revenue.

The budget also includes:

  • An operational audit will be conducted for the 2025 fiscal year, covering healthcare operations through November 30, 2025.
  • Salary expense at $50 per hour for administrative functions for an estimated 416 hours to maintain the District.
  • $10,000 for Directors and Officers liability insurance
  • $50,000 in legal expenses for FY 2026, which will include work related to completing the transaction with UCHealth. The Board approved continuing to work with the law firm of Hall Render at a rate of $350 per hour for associate lawyers and $495 per hour for partners. The firm has represented the District for 40 years.
  • $14,000 to lease a timeshare office space for $1,200 a month at VertCoworking.

The District will continue raising tax revenues as approved by voters in the 2023 ballot referendum, and its expenses will consist of those necessary to comply with Colorado special district law, including audit, website, and elections, monitor the affiliation arrangements with UCHealth; and” transfer funds to UCHealth Estes Valley Medical Center to support local healthcare operations consistent with the Definitive Agreements.”

The District will transfer any remaining funds after covering its expected $200,000 operating expenses to UCHealth Estes Valley Medical Center in FY 2026.

In discussing retaining Hall Render, a “national law firm focused exclusively on matters specific to the health care industry,” according to its website, Board member Steve Alper made the case for sticking with a firm known to the Board.

Leigh, however, suggested that the Board instead needed a law firm familiar with the laws governing special districts, since the Park Hospital District is no longer in the business of directly running a healthcare facility.

“I think there’s a lot to know about special districts that we don’t know. I really feel like we need that expertise, because we have never really had it,” said Leigh.

One of the items in the expense category is $4,500 for education for the Board about how to operate a special district. In Colorado, a special district is a local government entity and is considered to be a political subdivision of the state formed to provide specific, essential services that a city or county does not or can not provide to a defined area. Special districts are funded by property taxes or fees, and are governed by members of a publicly elected Board.

Before Thursday night’s meeting ended, Leigh made a statement thanking the public who had come to the meeting for making the time to attend, “I think it’s really important. I think that the EVMC Board meetings with UCHealth are not going to be open to the public, and I think it’s going to be critical that we get feedback from you, and that you stay vigilant in terms of trying to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s going on at the hospital, because I think that, as a Board, we do have some capacity to influence things, at least I hope that we do. And so, I would encourage you to bring your friends and family and continue to support this Board with your attendance. I really appreciate it, and think it’s absolutely critical for this community.”

The PHD Board will meet again in January and will post information about its meeting times and dates on its website, which is in development.