Governor Taps Montrose Mayor For Advisory Council

Montrose, CO — Colorado Governor Jared Polis announced Monday he has appointed Montrose Mayor Barbara Bynum to the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Cooperation and Implementation to help oversee the state's efforts to maximize social distancing efforts while coordinating between statewide public health departments to educate the public during the COVID-19 crisis. 

During Governor Polis’s COVID-19 update Monday afternoon he said that he had recently established the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Cooperation and Implementation, a council he also titled the "New Normal Advisory Board,” designed to advise the governor and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on policies and regulations that are designed to maximize social distancing at the local level.

According to Polis, the committee will focus "on how local governments and the local public health can coordinate with the state on educating the public about these regulations, and maximizing compliance and enforcement efforts during the COVID-19 crisis."

Polis said the committee will be composed of county commissioners with populations above and below 250,000 in population and mayors from Colorado cities with populations both above and below 100,000. Additionally, public health officials from departments serving both over and under 100,000 in population will serve alongside sheriffs and police and fire chiefs from across the state. 

Bynum was picked to represent Montrose and communities with populations under 100,000. Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar will represent Colorado cities with populations over 100,000. 

“I am honored to have been selected to serve on the Governor’s Advisory Committee for Cooperation and Implementation and I’m especially glad to see representation from two western Colorado local governments," Montrose Mayor Barbara Bynum said. “It is important that the governor is seeking input from local government officials because the decisions being made in Denver are going to affect people across the state."

Governor Polis said the committee will help the state grow and prosper under "the new normal" that is life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finding solutions to maximize social distancing policies while limiting the spread of the virus with "real world" solutions is a driving force behind the committee and their future work, according to Polis. 

"I am so proud of Mayor Barbara Bynum for her willingness to represent the smaller communities of Colorado on the governor's recently created "New Normal Advisory Board," said City Manager Bill Bell. "Mayor Bynum recognizes the important role of small business and manufacturing in the economic recovery efforts that will need to be implemented across the state over the next year."

For more city news related to coronavirus impacts visit CityOfMontrose.org/COVID19. 

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