A county-appointed Community Priorities Fund committee recommended awarding about $400,000 in grants in the program’s first round and asked the Board of County Commissioners to approve the package and a partial holdback.

The panel told commissioners it set childcare and housing as top priorities before reviewing applications and received 15 applications by the Sept. 5 deadline; it selected 11 to fund in this round and held back 20% of the total awards to preserve a principal for next year’s cycle. The committee also asked the board to earmark $100,000 and an additional $50,000 specifically for the start of a countywide childcare planning and implementation effort.

Why it matters: The fund was created to direct lodging-tax revenue toward local priorities. Committee members said stabilizing local childcare providers was the most urgent recurring need; they proposed a flat per-entity allocation to stabilize operations while allowing dollars to be used for tuition assistance, employee wages or other stabilization needs.

Committee members described their process and priorities. Sherry Locke, identified in the presentation as a Graham Foundation board member and fund committee member, said the panel prioritized childcare, housing and visitor-experience projects and used a rubric but relied on committee judgment when priorities superseded raw scores. The committee noted limited funds and recommended spreading awards to stabilize multiple childcare centers rather than concentrating a single large award. The committee said Colorado AeroLab would receive $16,500 in this round; other child-care providers received standard per-entity allocations (the committee used a roughly $29,000-per-entity stabilization benchmark where requested amounts supported it).

The committee explained specific housing awards addressed imminent needs, including emergency assistance and workforce housing projects. It also recommended a 20% local match to leverage Senate Bill 230 transportation funds to extend a regional transit service and named a local organization as the applicant that would operate the route. The presentation said the committee allocated $100,000 to a currently unspecified transportation request and separately earmarked $50,000 to a future childcare plan led by Grand Beginnings and partners.

Commissioners asked whether the $50,000 earmark should be included explicitly in a motion or held administratively by staff until the committee returns with more details. Committee members said they could not guarantee a timeline but expected implementation planning and possible grant solicitations would require the funds before the spring grant cycle; they said a spring 2026 follow-up was likely if the board did not authorize immediate distribution.

No formal board vote on the committee’s full funding recommendations or the earmark was recorded in the transcript excerpt. Committee members asked the board to accept the package and to include the earmark as part of any approving motion if the board preferred that approach. Commissioners discussed flexibility if no applications matched the earmark and how unused earmarked funds could be reallocated in the spring cycle.

The committee presentation included these known numeric details: the committee reported about $400,000 available for awards this round; it recommended holding back 20% of the total; it proposed a per‑entity stabilization benchmark around $29,000 for childcare entities; it recommended setting aside $100,000 and an additional $50,000 for the future childcare plan. One named award given in the presentation was $16,500 to Colorado AeroLab. Other award amounts and recipient lists were presented on a matrix in the meeting packet (not read aloud in full during the on‑record presentation).