Mayor Pro Tem Travis Day led the first meeting of 2024 for the Meeker Board of Trustees. The board certified the mill levy for 2024, noting that with the changes passed by the legislature in special session, anticipated property tax revenue was reduced by about $23K.
Meeker Chamber of Commerce Director Stephanie Hanson updated trustees on the chamber’s accomplishments in 2023 and plans for 2024. One of those accomplishments was achieving graduate status in the Colorado Main Street Program and rebranding as “Uplift Meeker.” At graduate level, Uplift Meeker will receive $10K a year to put toward a community project, as well as free consulting services. Hanson said the consulting received during the last five years of Main Street membership is worth about $30K. The next project underway is the installation of a highway banner to promote events.
Hanson said the Meeker Chamber has 212 members, 18 of which are new businesses, and had a record-breaking year for the sale of Chamber Bucks. Ordinarily the program averages about $30K a year, but this year sold about $70K. “That is pure money going back into Meeker,” Hanson said.
Other accomplishments include the increased use of the Business Center space on the second floor of Town Hall and the publication of a “Trail to Responsible Recreation” guide thanks to a grant from the Colorado tourism office.
The Chamber will be the lead coordinator for the Ride the Rockies bicycling tour when they come through Meeker in June.
This month, the Chamber is hosting a Business Rally on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at the Fairfield Center with local speakers and a presentation by travel writer Heidi Kerr-Schlaefer.
In other business, the board approved lease permits for the use of Ute Park to David Smith Ranches and the Meeker Classic, approved a letter of support for the Business Preservation Grant application, and gave approval to the Meeker Police Department to pursue a DOLA Peace Officers Behavioral Health Support and Community Partnerships grant to assist in funding a co-responders program from January 2025 through June 2026.
