Just before 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon, almost 72 hours before the Quota Club needed to vacate the space they occupied on the grounds of UCHealth Estes Valley Medical Center, three members of the service organization gathered at the RE/MAX realty building on Graves Avenue to sign a lease for a new home.
“We’re so proud of the Estes Park community for the number of offerings we got,” said Peggy Lynch, the Quota Club’s loan closet co-chair.
The nonprofit organization, which has provided durable medical goods at no cost to residents and visitors to the Estes Valley since 1952, will begin moving into its new location across from the Estes Park Events Complex today.
Since 2013, the Quota Club’s loan closet has been located in a building on the campus of what was Estes Park Health and is now UCHealth Estes Valley Medical Center. Last September, the EPH administration moved the Quota Club into the garage of 163 Stanley Circle Dr., a single-family house owned by the hospital and adjacent to its 10.5-acre campus, which is zoned “RM-residential multifamily 3 to 8 dwelling units per acre.”
According to Travis Machalek, Estes Park’s town administrator, the Town had informed the hospital on multiple occasions since March 2023 that the Stanley Circle Drive property was zoned for single-family residences only and could not be used for other purposes, such as the Quota Club’s loan closet.
The house, along with two others owned by the hospital, is situated on the north side of the hospital’s campus and is zoned “E – Estate,” which allows for single-family homes on lots of at least 0.5 acres.
After the Quota Club was relocated to the Stanley Circle Drive property, someone filed a complaint with the Town that the house, which is also being used as a duty house for EPH employees, was not in compliance with its zoning classification.
“They (the Town) said we are a business and we are not, we’re a service,” said Linda Polland, who serves as the loan closet chair.
“We don’t charge anything. People get the use of our equipment for free,” said Quota Club President Vicki Wright.
The 501(c) (3) tax-exempt charitable organization kicks off the community’s Christmas season with its annual Festival of Trees fundraiser, held in the lobby of the Estes Park Resort and Spa.
In mid-January, Lynch received a written warning that the organization was in violation of the Town’s zoning codes and would have to vacate the residential premises within two weeks. The Quota Club reached out to the Town and was given an additional two weeks to find a new location, with a final deadline of Feb. 14 to vacate the premises.
The hospital, under new management since its acquisition by UCHealth on Dec. 1, 2025, offered the Quota Club the use of another building on its campus, but due to remodeling done without pulling proper permits, including the removal of a firewall in the proffered building, the Town would not be able to issue an occupancy permit for that building until it was brought up to code, said Machalek.
According to Lynch, UCHealth offered to provide some employees to help move the equipment out of the space the club currently occupies; however, because Feb. 14 is a Saturday, UCHealth told the Quota Club they could help with a move on Friday, Feb. 13.
As the plight of the Quota Club’s loan closet became known throughout the community and the clock ticked toward Feb. 14, people began to chatter on social media, expressing their frustration.
Lynch said that, looking at the situation from the outside, many people have opinions without having all the details.
In searching for a new location, the Quota Club considered property on Comanche Street, next door to Elena’s Barking Lot, a canine daycare and boarding center. The property was most recently occupied by Aldrich Builders, and before that, a property management company, and before that, a plumbing business.
While that Comanche Street property had a large garage, ample parking, and easy access for both volunteers and people checking out equipment from the loan closet, the service club’s hopes were dashed when they learned the building was zoned “heavy commercial.” They did not qualify to occupy the space.
By Tuesday night, phones started ringing in a race against time as realtors and business owners across town reviewed their inventories and stepped up to offer space.
Jeff Briggs from Briggs Carpet Care of Estes Park called the Estes Valley Voice Tuesday afternoon to ask how to contact the Quota Club. “We saw your article about the Quota Club situation, and I don’t know if we can help, but we might be able to,” said Briggs. He offered space in one of his properties, as did Estes Park Sanitation and Vert Co-Working, along with several other businesses.
“We were just amazed at the outpouring of offers everyone gave us,” said Lynch.
The club needed between 1,000 and 1,400 square feet of ground-floor space with a bathroom and heat, and ideally with a garage door to house all their hospital beds, wheelchairs, commodes, walkers, crutches, and other equipment. And, as a charitable organization that operates on a shoestring and that had not been paying rent, the price had to fit the budget.
The Quota Club’s new home is a 1,400-square-foot facility behind the H&R Block office on Manford Avenue.
In a statement provided to the Estes Valley Voice on Tuesday evening, UCHealth spokesperson Dawn Wilson wrote, “UCHealth Estes Valley Medical Center is honored to have a long relationship with the Quota Club of Estes Park. Since 1949, they have provided the residents of Estes Park with the durable medical equipment they need — from Estes Park’s first ambulance to the expansive loan closet that has been in operation since 1952.
“Estes Valley Medical Center has been working diligently to help the Quota Club find a location for the loan closet that meets the town’s planning and zoning requirements. After reviewing all options on-site at the hospital, we reached out to other valley organizations and businesses about what may be available in the community.
“The 1,000 to 1,400-square-foot requirement is a size that is not currently available within Estes Park that meets the needs of the Quota Club, including garage door access, heat, water, and bathroom, and the zoning requirements.
“Estes Valley Medical Center has offered a convenient space for the loan closet that would enable the Quota Club to continue their important service with an additional storage area that should be able to house their equipment. We will continue working with members of the Quota Club as they decide what will be best for the loan closet and help them continue serving the residents of Estes Park.”