Greeley paves the way for a ‘municipal solution,’ becoming one of the first cities in the state to craft a way to split from county policies

By Kelly Ragan

Greeley city officials are crafting a plan to split from the county’s policies in the hopes of following state orders regarding COVID-19. 

While Weld County Commissioners have said neither they nor the health department will enforce Gov. Polis’ executive orders, most recently requiring residents to wear masks, Greeley officials want to comply with state orders (law enforcement is a whole other thing, which you can read about here.)

According to Greeley’s Emergency Manager Dan Frazen, Greeley is the first – and so far only – city to ask the state to create a process to request a city specific variance – called a municipal solution. Counties have asked for variances, but no other cities in Colorado have asked for one. 

The variance could mean Greeley businesses, for example, could serve more people than state guidelines suggest if Greeley’s COVID-19 case numbers go down while the county’s numbers surge. Cases are rising in Greeley, so that may not happen, but the city wants to be prepared nonetheless. 

“We want to be prepared, have a plan in place, and have a relationship with the state,” said Greeley’s Emergency Manager Dan Frazen. “We want everything to be legal, we want to be in compliance.” 

In an interview with the NoCo Optimist, Greeley Mayor John Gates said he hasn’t seen anything at this point that would make a move like this worth it. While some restaurants, churches and more might not be happy working with a reduced capacity, they are still able to open. 

“I’ve not seen any indicators that it would be beneficial for the city to request a variance,” Gates said. “But that could change.” 

Especially, he said, since a variance like that would require Greeley to see a downward trajectory in cases and right now, cases are ticking back up. 

Colorado is still in a phase called safer-at-home and in the vast, great outdoors. The current state guidelines encourage restrictions such as restaurants limiting their capacity to 50% or a maximum of 50 people, limiting outdoor events to a maximum of 175 people, wearing masks indoors until Aug. 15, and more. 

Counties can apply for variances from state orders if they have low COVID-19 infection rates. Greeley city officials want something in place for its own variance since Weld has made it clear it will not apply for one, whether or not cases go down in the county. The city’s goal is to be on the up and up with the state while loosening restrictions when possible. 

The state is open to the idea, Frazen said. 

“Because we are in Weld County and Weld County doesn’t recognize (state orders), the variance committee at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is working on a solution for us,” Frazen said. “The city of Greeley will have something. When we get healthier, we won’t get stuck in this phase.” 

Larimer County and Adams County both asked for variances, Frazen said, and both got them – even if they didn’t get everything they asked for. 

Larimer County has approval from the state for more people to participate in a range of activities, from restaurant dining to weddings. Adams County got permission to host more people at the Gaylord Rockies Resort Convention Center in Aurora. 

How did we get here?

Frazen said city officials started talking about this process after having conversations about what it would take to put on large events such as University of Northern Colorado football games, dog shows, rodeos, gun shows, farm shows, Union Colony Civic Center events and more, while complying with state orders. 

“We want to comply with state orders in a way that helps the city of Greeley’s economy,” city spokesperson Kelli Johnson said in an interview with the NoCo Optimist. “But right now, that path doesn’t exist.” 

However, Greeley’s cases are on the rise. 

While most businesses have been able to reopen, many are required by the state to do so at a reduced capacity. Photo by Joshua Polson.

Where do we stand with COVID?

According to the health department’s website, Weld has a total of 3,462 documented positive cases, while 92 people have died due to the virus. 

Greeley and Evans have seen the most cases, with 2,233 confirmed positive results. 

Of those, the 80631 and 80634 zip codes continue to see the most cases, with 1,079 and 821 respectively. 

While deaths caused by the virus have held relatively steady, case numbers are going up. 

According to Frazen, Greeley’s positivity rate (the number of people tested in a day compared to the ones who tested positive) went up from 4.9% July 18 to 7.25% in 10 days. 

That’s not good news. We don’t want to be over 5%, Frazen said. 

“Nobody likes surprises with COVID-19, and this was a surprise to the emergency managers.” 

Is it worth it? 

At a city council meeting Tuesday, councilmember Tommy Butler asked Frazen if there was a good explanation for why the county wasn’t applying for a variance. 

“The legal interpretation from their county attorney to their board of commissioners is that they don’t recognize the state’s authority here, with executive orders or public health orders,” Frazen said. 

So, the city is seeing what other options are available.  

Though Greeley can’t apply for a  “Protect our Neighbors” certification, since that’s something only counties can apply for, Frazen measured the city by the certification’s eight criteria to show where Greeley would land. 

If the state were to measure Greeley with those criteria, the city would not yet qualify, Frazen said. 

Here’s where Greeley stands: 

1. Sufficient hospital bed capacity (enough for a 20% surge) – yes 

2. Sufficient PPE supply at local hospitals – yes 

3. Stable or declining COVID-19 hospitalizations with no more than two new hospital admissions in a single day – no 

4. 25 or fewer new cases per 100,000 or less than 5% positivity with minimum testing rate, no greater than 50 new cases per 100,000 – no 

5. Sufficient testing capacity based on population, which for Greeley is about 165 tests per day – yes 

6. Contact tracing for a minimum of 85% of cases within 24 hours – no 

7. Documented surge capacity plan for case investigation and contact tracing 8.7 cases per 100,000 per day – no

Frazen said he doubts the state’s variance committee would hold Greeley to those standards, but the city is still making an effort to get there. To do so, it needs the county’s help. 

On July 24, Frazen said, he made a formal request to the county for a couple of things, including: 

• More data on testing and positivity rates

• Information on contact tracing capabilities 

• Copies of the county’s outbreak response plan 

• A letter or memo from the county assuring they will continue to collaborate and communicate during the pandemic response

Frazen said he doesn’t yet have good information on positivity data, as it’s not currently provided by the health department. 

“But it sounds like they will build a new dashboard for the data I’ve been requesting for months now,” Frazen said. 

Johnson said that at this point, it’s hard to know how much of an impact a municipal solution could have on the city’s economy. But it could allow restaurants and other businesses to serve more people at one time. 

Before a decision is made on whether to pursue the budding municipal solution, it will come up again for discussion before city council. 

“The city has indicated all along that it would be following the Governor’s orders,” Johnson said. “If we can safely increase the group gatherings you’re able to have, the city wants to be able to offer that.”