Steamboat Springs City Council is holding a special meeting at 10 a.m. this Friday, Aug. 21, to formally discuss a potential ballot measure this fall that would ask voters in Steamboat — and virtually all other Yampa Valley municipalities — to pay a 0.5% sales tax to fund the Yampa Valley Regional Transportation Authority. 

The decision to hold the meeting was made after the RTA board’s regular meeting on Monday, Aug. 17, where board members reviewed polling results, with the aim of holding a formal vote at the meeting as to whether to submit the ballot question. That vote has now been tabled to Wednesday, Aug. 26. 

The authority, which has been meeting in a formal capacity since December, has seen minimal public comment at its meetings, aside from that of vocal RTA supporter Luke Philips, who publishes a newsletter, Friends of the YVRTA, with regular updates on the authority’s progress. 

Steamboat Springs’ Friday meeting will include both a general public comment period and a comment period specific to the RTA funding question, according to City Manager Tom Leeson. 

While community members valley-wide have signaled their support for the implementation of regional transportation service — with the RTA’s formation being approved by voters in all jurisdictions this past November — the question that comes before voters now is if and how they’re willing to pay for it. 

California-based market research firm New Bridge Strategy conducted polling in late July with 300 registered voters across the RTA’s jurisdiction, which includes all Yampa Valley municipalities, with the exception of unincorporated Moffat County. 

The polling assessed voters’ appetite for two potential tax increases — a half-cent or a full-cent sales tax. 

The 0.5% option was described as increasing RTA taxes by $1.25 million beginning in fiscal year 2027, “and by whatever additional amounts are raised annually thereafter.” A 1% option was described as increasing taxes by $2.5 million beginning in fiscal year 2027, followed by whatever additional amounts are raised annually.

Just over half of polled voters said they would vote “yes” on a 0.5% sales tax question, with roughly a third saying they would vote “definitely yes.” Around a third said they would vote “no,” with 20% saying they would vote “definitely no.” 

The 1% sales tax question saw less support. Forty-two percent of polled voters said they would vote “yes,” with 26% saying they would vote “definitely yes,” while 40% said they would vote “no,” with 30% saying they would vote “definitely no.” 

The ballot language in the survey states that taxes would go toward “improving transportation options for local workers, residents, seniors, and visitors across the Yampa Valley” and “providing affordable regional transportation options to areas that are currently not served by transit.” 

It also states the tax would be allocated toward “enhancing public safety by maintaining and improving pedestrian access, crosswalks and wildlife crossings; and participating in regional planning for future commuter rail service between Craig, Hayden, Steamboat Springs and Oak Creek.” 

According to New Bridge Strategy Principal Lori Weigel, polled voters supportive of the RTA largely cited their general support for expanding public transit, as well as equity and access for the local workforce and vulnerable populations, reducing traffic congestion and car dependency, and mitigating U.S. Highway 40 safety concerns. 

Voters less supportive or altogether opposed to the RTA, on the other hand, were generally opposed to an increase in taxes and cited concerns of trustworthiness among elected officials as to how the funds will be used. 

Most importantly, added Weigel, polled voters who said they were “undecided” largely matched the profile demographics of those in support of the RTA, particularly Democrats, women and Steamboat Springs residents. 

Councilor Bryan Swintek — standing in as an alternate for the Councilor John Agosta, Steamboat’s official representative on the board — asked Weigel what board members should take away from the results. 

“We used to tell people that you want 60% ‘yes,'” said Weigel. “It has been a long, long time since I’ve seen 60% ‘yes’ on a ballot question.” 

When discussions on how to proceed with the ballot measure began, Swintek asked board members if they would be willing to table the vote so that Steamboat Springs elected officials could have a chance to deliberate it first in a formal setting. 

“This morning, (County) Commissioner (Sonja) Macys shared with me that she and the other municipalities in the RTA see this as Steamboat hijacking the process,” Swintek said. “I totally understand why that is how this looks.” 

“That is our worst fear,” he continued. “We are really sensitive to this. We know we are the big elephant in the room.”

“Our council has just learned that big decisions like this, that our constituents hear of, there’s a bigger blowback when we don’t have this discussion on a public basis,” added Swintek, who emphasized that Steamboat’s representatives generally remain supportive of the authority. “And that results in collateral damage that is more disruptive than anything else.”

The request drew surprise and confusion from some fellow board members, including Macys and Hayden Mayor Ryan Banks, who questioned why this arose so late in the process. 

“Human error happens in processes,” Swintek responded. “Council has new members … we are just average people serving on council, and people make mistakes. People may not understand how things work or what has been learned in the past or remember agreements that we had on council.”

Oak Creek Mayor Melissa Dobbins encouraged her fellow board members to allow Steamboat to proceed with the Friday meeting and to table the RTA’s official vote. 

“I’ve definitely observed and I’ve seen how when things aren’t clear with Steamboat, things can fall apart,” said Dobbins. 

The RTA question stands amid a number of ballot measures that may come to voters in the November 2026 and 2027 election cycles, including early childhood care, home health and hospice, fire district consolidation, wildfire mitigation and land stewardship, and a 1% sales tax in Oak Creek. 

With the ultimate deadline to submit ballot measures to the Routt and Moffat county clerks being Sept. 4, it is yet unclear which measures, and how many of them, voters will be asked to consider this fall. 

The RTA board is set to convene again at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26 for an official vote on whether to submit the ballot measure for the November election.