The Steamboat Springs City Council signaled broad support Tuesday for Routt County’s early childhood education initiative, but organizers said they are now looking at a longer public education campaign before bringing any funding measure to voters.

Meg Franges of First Impressions of Routt County and consultant Kyle Blakely of Avant Strategies told council members that the Routt Thrive by Five effort — presented to the Routt County Commissioners in late March — is moving into a new phase built around public outreach, coalition-building and voter education. 

The phase comes after April polling efforts showed there is interest in the issue but not yet enough support for an immediate ballot measure.

Routt Thrive by Five grew out of a 2022 strategic plan that identified funding as a top priority, followed by a 2023 childcare needs assessment and a later cost-modeling report that helped define the size of the gap.

Those studies found a childcare system under strain from limited space, access problems and a shortage of workers. First Impressions has said the county needs a more sustainable model for childcare for children from birth to age 5, especially for infants and toddlers, where demand far exceeds available slots.

Blakely said the group is preparing a yearlong campaign that will include a revamped website, social media, public meetings, community events and targeted voter outreach. He said the effort will also begin working more directly with likely voters ahead of a possible November 2027 ballot.

“We’ve got some real positive aspects from the polling, but not what we consider to be a slam dunk to go to the ballot right now,” Blakely told council.

Franges said the county still faces an estimated $8.5 million annual funding gap to fully support a high-quality early childhood system.

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The biggest needs, she said, are capacity, access and people — meaning more childcare space, more affordable care and a stronger workforce. She said the county’s childcare market is struggling to sustain itself because providers cannot charge enough to cover costs without pricing out families.

“Our early childhood professionals, almost 50% of them have second jobs,” Franges said. “They’re making about $3 less an hour than what would be considered a livable wage.”

Blakely explained that currently, for every slot available for infant and toddler care, there are seven infants competing for those spots, which has a broader effect on the local economy. 

“Right now, households are spending 25 to 30% of their income in Routt County on childcare,” he said. “
The national benchmark is 7%.”

He added that Routt County has lost more residents aged 25-44 than nearly any other county in the state, “partly because of overall affordability, of each early childcare is a big piece of that.”

Blakely told county commissioners in March that among public funding options, leaders have discussed a countywide property tax, countywide sales tax, a reallocation of a portion of Steamboat’s short-term rental tax fund, an employer or payroll tax modeled after one used in Vermont, and even a sin tax — though he said that would likely be a declining source of revenue.

One idea under consideration would ask for around $3.5 million to $4 million annually from the city’s STR tax, which could cover roughly half of the county’s annual early childhood need. 

Council members largely voiced support for the broader effort, but several said the city should be careful about appearing to endorse a specific tax or funding mechanism before any proposal returns for formal consideration — particularly as both the city and county face a growing list of potential ballot measures through 2027.

Councilor Gail Garey said the city would need a clear line between general support for the initiative and support for any future ballot referral, while Councilor Dave Barnes said the city could back community education without putting its logo on materials that mention a ballot measure before council has taken a formal position.

Council President Steve Muntean raised the possibility of embedding childcare more directly into new housing projects, while Councilor Michael Buccino suggested creative incentives such as teacher housing to help recruit and retain childcare workers.

Franges said the city’s role at this stage is mainly to support public education and keep the conversation moving. She said the effort is also hosting a community play night Thursday, May 28 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Little Toots Park as part of its outreach campaign.

To learn more about Routt Thrive by Five, visit RouttThriveby5.org/.