The Park Hospital District has exhausted its 2026 operating allocation less than four months into the year, prompting board members to call a meeting with its legal counsel at 8 a.m. on Wednesday to discuss the district’s financial position and potential next steps.
The meeting will begin with an executive session with its attorneys.
Under the affiliation agreement that transferred management of Estes Park Health to UCHealth, the Park Hospital District is limited to spending no more than $200,000 annually from the $4.6 million in property tax revenue it collects. The remaining $4.4 million in property tax money collected by the Park Hospital District must be paid to UCHealth.
The PHD board approved its 2026 budget in December, based on the $200,000 spending cap.
District expenses have exceeded projections, driven largely by legal fees associated with governance matters and ongoing negotiations, as well as costs related to closing the Ascensus retirement plan connected to the former Estes Park Health operation.
By the end of April, invoices from the district’s legal counsel, Hall Render, had surpassed the district’s entire annual operating allocation.
Budget projections for 2026 were presented to the board last year by then-Estes Park Health Chief Executive Officer Vern Carda, who now serves as president and CEO of UCHealth Estes Valley Medical Center.
In addition to discussing financial matters, directors are expected to consider how to obtain and catalog official governance records belonging to the district but have been in the custody of UCHealth since the affiliation on Dec. 1, 2025.
The special meeting follows several weeks of board discussions regarding the district’s finances and governance responsibilities.
Among those responsibilities is conducting the district’s next board election in the spring of 2027. Director Steve Alper is term-limited and ineligible to seek another term, while seats currently held by board Chairman Cory Workman and Director Brigitte Foust will be on the ballot.
Notice of the special meeting was posted on Tuesday morning. The meeting will be held in the conference room at Vert CoWorking and Fitness, 1280 Big Thompson Ave. Meeting materials are available on the district’s website.