Following Tuesday’s Town Board meeting, 2025 childcare and workforce housing financed through lodging sales tax revenue, locally known as 6E funding, is one step closer to reality. The expenditure plan for those two areas was approved by trustees when they accepted the consent agenda.
After the Larimer County Commissioners give their approval, the funding plan acts as an agreement between the town and the county regarding the allocation of funds.
The expenditure plans for the two areas, designed to ease the housing crunch and expand childcare choices in the area, must be submitted to the commissioners for approval by Nov. 1. That board has until Dec. 1 to approve or request changes in the document.
The spending plan was originally presented to both governmental bodies on Sept. 26 during a joint work session.
6E funding is generated through a 3.5% sales tax extension on all lodging stays within the Estes Park Local Marketing District, an area matching that of the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District boundary, within Larimer County. In 2022, county residents within the special district approved 6E, dedicated specifically to supporting workforce housing and childcare initiatives within the community.
During her presentation to the two governing bodies in September, the Town’s housing and childcare manager Carly Bangs pointed out that while the childcare and housing functions are separate programs (childcare is a town program; housing is operated through the Estes Park Housing Authority, a separate entity) they are collaborative.
As Bangs works to increase childcare options, she and Scott Moulton, the housing authority’s executive director, are coordinating efforts to make certain mortgage and rental assistance programs are in place and that families continue having opportunities for housing that meets their needs.
“We have really focused on addressing workforce challenges in a way to stabilize what is existing to make sure we’re retaining the staff that exist, and so that we can create some other long-term structures and increase capacity,” Bangs said during the meeting last month.
Included in the 2025 childcare plan is $100,000 in an annual workforce subsidy. Each of the three existing childcare centers in Estes Park received a portion of $85,000 in 2024 funding. Receipt of funding in 2025 is dependent on paying teachers a minimum of $24.52 per hour and $16 per hour for teachers’ aides. Those wages are based on the school district’s salary scale.
Also in the works for 2025 is the development of a program to help fund family childcare home providers. “We really want to make sure that we’re creating something that supports them throughout the year.” Bangs said. The home providers’ grant program will be designed to support expenses related to health and safety improvements and start-up costs for new providers, including costs associated with childproofing, fencing, and materials.
Included in the childcare budget is $200,000 for a childcare facility and capital grants and $250,000 in tuition assistance along with $100,000 for funding out-of-school programming, such as opportunities offered by the Boys and Girls Clubs and the YMCA of the Rockies. The childcare facility expense will repay the loan received from the town for the purchase of the Mountain Top preschool building that was purchased on Oct. 15.
Bangs also is exploring the possibility of expanding the Career and Technical Education program at Estes Park High School to provide an opportunity for high school students to begin their careers and graduate with skills and knowledge to be successful in an early childhood education career.
The P-Teach (Pathway to Teaching) is a dual enrollment program currently offering high school credit, career education and certification to help high school students become K-12 teachers. Bangs’ hope is that the program could be expanded to help students receive the credentials necessary to become early childhood staff to create a new pipeline of opportunities to train and retain childcare staff.
Under Bangs’ direction, the childcare program also is investigating the potential of expanding the early childhood education career path at the Estes Park School District where students are able to take courses to be certified in programs for kindergarten through 12th grade through Front Range Community College. “We’re working with the school district on expanding that to include early childhood education that allows them to get all the certifications they need, stay within our community, and hopefully get jobs and internships and kind of have that jump start on their career path,” Bangs said.
In 2025, Bangs told the commissioners and trustees that goals for the program are to increase in-home providers by one, add three more childcare staff in Estes Park so there are 30 certified staff, establish one infant classroom, and add one toddler classroom to the existing single room.
Housing Authority Plans
After land-banking several undeveloped tracts with about 14 acres in the past year, and acquiring three nearly ready-to-use properties with a total of 126 housing units since March, the Estes Park Housing Authority is in the first of a two-year design phase of workforce housing for the Fish Hatchery property with a focus on outreach and communication with neighbors in that area.
Other projects in pre-development phases, also owned by the Town of Estes Park, are at 179 Stanley Circle Drive and property on Dry Gulch.
In addition to those projects Moulton told county commissioners and town trustees that the housing authority will concentrate on further development of its program to provide deed-restricted purchase units in the new development it owns, designate rental assistance units for moderate income working households, and further develop its down payment assistance programs to support low to moderate income level households. EPHA anticipates allocating $1 million to housing programs.
Because of the influx of having so many units coming online at basically the same time – 90 units at Fall River Village and another 29 at Beaver Brook– EPHA anticipates additional staffing needs in 2025 to ensure proper coverage and expertise within the organization. Additional staffing is needed in financing and accounting, as well as operations. As a standard, operational positions are paid for by operating revenue (rent) from each respective property, however, EPHA may temporarily use additional 6E funds to aid in the scaling of rental operations to ensure adequate resources are in place for successful operations and execution.