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Yampa Valley Sustainability Council asks Routt County for enterprise zone support to buy Steamboat building
Summary
Yampa Valley Sustainability Council leaders asked the Routt County commissioners for a letter of support so the nonprofit can pursue an enterprise zone tax credit to help buy and renovate a building on Oak Street for a climate resilience center and expanded staffing.
Yampa Valley Sustainability Council leaders told the Routt County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 28 they have an opportunity to purchase a building on Oak Street and are requesting a county letter of support for an enterprise zone tax credit to help with capital and operating fundraising.
The organization’s executive director, Michelle Stewart, said the tax credit application will be submitted to the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade and routed through Associated Governments of Northern Colorado (AGNC). “We are very respectfully and kindly requesting that Routt County provide a letter of support for our application to secure enterprise zone tax credit to support our capital and operating campaign,” Stewart said.
The council said it has outgrown its current space and faces rapidly rising rent. The plan is to use the Oak Street building to house staff in the near term and, over time, expand the site into a climate resilience center with partner space, public resources and workforce-development programming. Stewart said the organization has trained more than 35 interns in the past three years and has begun capital fundraising with “100% board support.”
Commissioners said they had reviewed the draft letter and did not object to preparing a county letter of support, while noting the usual practice is to allow more time for such requests. County staff said the letter will be personalized and circulated back to the board for ratification at a future meeting.
The council asked for a fast turnaround so the tax-credit materials can reach OEDIT’s board in February, citing a short timeline tied to the building purchase. Stewart provided a template letter and asked for feedback; commissioners instructed staff to circulate a revised draft and bring it back for future ratification.
No formal county financial commitment or approval of funding was made at the meeting; commissioners limited their action to agreeing to draft and circulate a letter of support for later ratification.
The county will route the final letter through AGNC as part of the enterprise zone process. The enterprise zone program and any donor incentives remain subject to OEDIT review and AGNC administration.
