Chaffee County residents are understandably concerned about recovery from the COVID-19 public health emergency. Chaffee County leaders made human health and safety our priority at the outset of the crisis. Chaffee County Public Health (CCPH) has done yeoman service in coordinating efforts to prevent a community-wide outbreak.
Keith Baker, authored the Board of County Commissioner message to the community on behalf of the BoCC. Image by Luke Urbine, Arkansas Valley Digital Imaging/AVDI.
Even as our interagency team focused on defeating the COVID-19 threat, we considered recovery. We actively sought out authorities speaking on this subject and noted several themes, so we began outlining our Chaffee County plans. These themes included data-driven planning, condition and criteria-driven (rather than calendar-driven) milestones, phased approaches, and empowering residents and business owners to control their own destinies.
The federal government outlined a restoration and recovery plan last week, and Governor Polis described his plan for an orderly restoration and recovery for Colorado yesterday. Confident our recovery plans are on the right track, our interagency team which includes; CCPH, Chaffee County Office of Emergency Management, Chaffee County Economic Development Council (EDC), and elected officials from Chaffee municipalities is moving forward to make the best most informed decisions we can to reopen and plans will be unveiled soon.
We truly want to empower business owners and operators and see them return to vibrancy as soon as possible.We want to get this right. Similarly, the County Commissioners recently established the Chaffee County Economic Recovery Team (CCERT), to facilitate the survival of small businesses and the economic well-being of residents. CCERT is using existing organizations such as the Economic Development Council (EDC), Upper Arkansas Area Council of Governments (UAACOG), the Upper Arkansas Workforce Development Council, the Chambers of Commerce, local banks and others, along with several industry-focused working groups, to help businesses navigate the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and other benefits programs.
Empowered with clearer guidance from federal and state officials, the BoCC, municipalities, CCPH, the EDC and others will accelerate our efforts to begin returning to a more normal life in Chaffee County.
Featured photo: Chaffee County Board of County Commissioners left to right: Keith BAker, Chair Greg Felt and Rusty Granzella.
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