The local lodging tax generated about $6 million for housing and childcare in 2025, the Estes Park Board of Trustees learned May 12, as the town develops a master plan for how to support childcare facilities.
That revenue is about $1 million more than was originally anticipated when voters approved ballot initiative 6E in 2022 to increase the tax from 2% to 5.5%.
“This tax allows visitors to help support the infrastructure that keeps our community functioning,” Town Housing and Childcare Manager Carlie Speedlin said in Tuesday night’s presentation. “Housing and child care are essential to that infrastructure.”
Tourism brings 4 million visitors to Estes Park each year. Tourism and lodging generally slowed across Colorado since the post-pandemic rebound, but revenue remains consistent and reliable, Speedlin said. Tax revenue increased by 6.2% from 2024 to 2025.
September is the highest-revenue month of the year – the only month to generate over $1 million, according to the 2025 impact report.
The tax distribution has been reproportioned from 12% supporting childcare to 20%. The other 80% supports workforce housing. So, in 2025, about $4.68 million went to workforce housing and $1.2 million to childcare.
For housing initiatives, $2.53 million went to land banking, including the acquisition of 10 acres for future housing development. $744,000 was spent on developing properties already publicly owned, including Fall River Village, 775 Riverside, and the Fish Hatchery neighborhood. $1 million assisted 32 working households with rent. And, $700,000 supported administration.
For childcare initiatives, $365,000 was allocated to tuition assistance. The percentage of children in care receiving assistance increased from 21% to 55% between 2023 and 2024.
$105,000 supported the childcare workforce through the Annual Workforce Subsidy, relaunched as the “Childcare Stability Initiative.” Before the subsidy, many early childhood teaching positions were paid minimum wage, Speedlin said. The subsidy has increased wages, strengthened retention, and expanded childcare capacity.
$135,000 in grants supported out-of-school programs for the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District, YMCA of the Rockies, Estes Park Elementary School, and Boys and Girls Club of Larimer County. $470,000 went toward facility expansion, including repaying a loan from the General Fund for the town’s purchase of the Mountaintop Childcare facility in 2024.
“Housing and child care are not separate challenges,” Speedlin said. “They are interconnected, and 6E is helping to address both in a coordinated and sustainable way.”
Mayor Gary Hall said the 6E programs are feeding the roots for the entire community, not just those receiving assistance.
“This creates and grows the infrastructure for the whole town,” Hall said. “We all benefit from it. There are so many municipalities that would love to have a 6E, and I think it was visionary of the community to pass that in 2022.”
Draft childcare facility master plan moving forward
Representatives of the organization developing the town’s childcare facility master plan introduced a draft at Tuesday’s board meeting with two recommended best practices.
The Colorado Department of Local Affairs awarded Estes Park a $75,000 grant to develop the plan, which is being drafted by the organization Executives Partnering to Invest in Children. The grant requires the town to implement at least one policy or program change that supports the development of childcare facilities.
The two recommendations are to “adopt child care-friendly land use and zoning,” and to “establish a public-private partnership strategy.”
A final draft is scheduled to be presented at the June 9 Town Board meeting.
EPIC’s Colorado Executive Director Alethea Gomez, who joined the May 12 meeting virtually, said the grant’s deadlines have been extended from the end of next month to March 2027. EPIC plans to follow the original timeline, but this gives the Town Board more time to consider final approval.
The master plan is meant to define the town’s role in investing in and supporting childcare facilities and the childcare industry.
Speedlin said up to this point, the town government has largely been reactive in responding to childcare facility needs.
“The master plan is a more proactive and coordinated guide for future investments and decision making,” she said.
Gomez presented research conducted by EPIC on the childcare landscape and needs in the Estes Valley, based on data analysis and meetings with community stakeholders.
The final report will include a detailed facility opportunity analysis of 19 public or privately owned properties that could be developed or expanded as childcare facilities. The “landscape analysis” will review the overall supply of real estate opportunities, including their condition and location.
Joe Zanone, founder of Zanone Property Management, shared several examples of the types of properties that will be examined, including town-owned land, existing childcare facilities that could be remodeled and expanded, and private properties that could be redeveloped through a partnership.
Gomez expounded on the master plan’s second recommendation to develop a public-private partnership framework.
“What that really means is clarifying the role of the town not only in supporting the workforce and operators directly,” she said, “but what is the town’s role in supporting facility development and sustainability in the community?”
Mayor Gary Hall said he anticipates some potential hiccups that may need to be worked out in the language of the recommendations, but they point in the right direction.
“At a high level, I think those are the two most likely categories to get us into the future,” Hall said. “So, I’m good with them.”