March 2020 Mayor's Minutes

Hello neighbors,

In an ongoing effort to keep you informed, I want to take a moment to provide some updates not only about this Thursday’s Town Council Meeting but also about a few ways we are reacting here locally in response to the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. For a full list, you may visit the new webpage dedicated to our efforts.

As of Wednesday morning, there have been no confirmed COVID-19 cases in San Miguel County. Our emergency response team, led by Police Chief Chris Broady and Public Information Specialist Kathrine Warren, is working directly with the San Miguel County Public Health Office to plan and prepare for this rapidly evolving situation. We are continuously evaluating our procedures and operations in an effort to minimize our community’s risk while continuing to provide the vital services we all need.

Town Council Meeting

The March 19, 2020 Town Council meeting agenda has been significantly amended. Previously agendized topics, including the Village Court Apartments Request for Proposals (VCA RFP) and numerous town planning items, will be continued to a future meeting. Instead, we will be considering three emergency measures:

• A resolution declaring a local disaster-related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This resolution will activate the response and recovery aspects of all applicable local and inter-jurisdictional disaster emergency plans and authorize the furnishing of aid and assistance under such plans.
• A resolution allowing Town Council to hold emergency and/or virtual meetings due to COVID-19 disaster declaration.
• An emergency ordinance that will establish rules and regulations necessary for the town to enforce state and county mandates during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

The meeting will be streamed live on our websiteand on Facebook Live. We highly encourage you to watch online and submit any questions or comments via our online platforms by commenting on ourFacebook Live feed or emailing to be read on the record by staff. We encourage virtual public comment during this meeting to help the public, staff, and council maintain proper social distance.

Town Hall & Municipal Offices

In an effort to protect the health and safety of our community, we are taking every precaution to help prevent the spread of this virus. Non-critical town employees have been asked to work remotely, where applicable. While Town Hall and the Municipal Building will have limited staff on-site, we strongly encourage you to limit any in-person business with town departments and to instead email or call our staff. You can look find staff contact information on our staff directory.

Gondola

Beginning tomorrow morning, Thursday, March 19, the gondola will be operating on a reduced schedule with service from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. We are currently loading only one person or associated group per cabin. Given this rapidly evolving situation, continued gondola service is subject to change. Any changes will be posted immediately on social media and on our website attownofmountainvillage.com/coronavirus and sent out through our new text message notification system (You may sign up here if you aren't receiving those notices.)

Community Support

Councilmember Marti Prohaska has volunteered to work in concert with regional community leaders to provide support and resources to members of our community who are struggling with economic, family support, transportation, and other challenges triggered by the pandemic. Please contact Marti at if you need assistance or you would like to volunteer. More details to come later this week.

Connectivity

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, our schools and the Wilkinson Library all closed this week and are not expected to resume until sometime this April, at the earliest. The town is working with the Telluride School District to determine which Mountain Village families, with school-age children, need internet installed in their homes to allow children to keep up with their schoolwork. We will be installing internet and hardware to these households throughout the week, at no cost to the families. Please contact Zoe Dohnal at or Marti Prohaska at if your family needs assistance.

Payment deadlines

Beginning Friday, March 20 the Town of Mountain Village will be forgoing penalties for any late payments on February Mountain Village sales tax owed. This will continue until further notice.

The Town will also be suspending late charges on utility, Mountain Munchkin, and Village Court Apartments late accounts, starting with the upcoming billing cycle.

Given the quickly evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, we urge you to sign up for text message and email notifications updates from the Town of Mountain Village and also from San Miguel County. Please also monitor the town’s website and Facebook pages for timely updates.

The next few days and weeks will be challenging. I strongly encourage you to reach out to me, Town Councilmembers, and town staff with questions, concerns, or potential assistance you may need or can offer.

Warm regards,
Laila Benitez
Mountain Village Mayor