Gov. Jared Polis told Pikes Peak region officials Wednesday evening during his annual local address hosted by the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce & EDC he remains optimistic for Colorado’s future, despite several challenges the state faces.

In a truncated version of the State of the State speech Polis made to the Colorado General Assembly on Jan. 13, the Democrat said Colorado must address rising costs of living and inflation, the need for more affordable housing, and better child care and mental health resources. He outlined to a crowd of nearly 500 Pikes Peak region community and business leaders his vision to encourage entrepreneurship and ease financial burdens on Coloradans.

“In the months ahead, we’re looking forward to saving people money where we can,” he said. “… We can reduce fees (and) support policies that help small businesses and Coloradans have more in their pocket to afford what lies ahead.”

To that end, said Polis – now in the final year of his term and seeking reelection – he will cut taxes, reduce or waive fees and remove government-required financial burdens for entrepreneurs, look for ways to improve child care programs across the state and invest in programs to ease rising housing costs.

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Polis echoed plans he laid out earlier Wednesday as he made several stops across Colorado Springs and Pueblo to reduce driver license and vehicle registration fees, including a bill he signed last year which raised fees for cars and gas and in turn cut vehicle registration fees for drivers by $11. Earlier Wednesday he also touted the Governor’s Fee Reduction Package, which suspended driver license fees at $30, compared to the national average of around $40.

But El Paso County leaders said while reduced costs to drivers was beneficial, Polis’ policies increased the financial burden on the local motor vehicle department.

“Because of the lack of programming that went into those fee decreases, our staff must go in and physically touch all of those transactions,” El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Chuck Broerman said. “It’s great that motorists are getting that financial relief, but it is increasing our costs to provide those services.”

Polis also said he wanted to waive incorporation and other fees currently required to start a business to encourage entrepreneurship.

El Paso County Commission Chairman Stan VanderWerf said he appreciated the governor’s sentiment but didn’t feel those cuts would significantly help potential business owners.

“Those are minor amounts of savings compared to the cost of operating a business,” he said.

Polis also highlighted a recent state law that fully funds full-day kindergarten as another opportunity for Coloradans to save money by allowing them to get back into the workforce without the burden of paying for high child care costs. He added he will support initiatives to improve other child care services.

“Everybody should be able to have a good (child care) option for their child,” he said.

To keep Colorado economical and entice more people to move to bustling areas like the Pikes Peak region, Polis said he would also support affordable housing projects.

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Rising housing costs have the potential to “slow economic growth when people who want to work, and there’s jobs for it in an area, can’t afford to find a place where their family can live in that area,” he said. “We need to do better.”

The state legislature is using some of its allocation of federal one-time American Rescue Plan Act funds to address housing costs, he said, and plans to invest about $500 million of that money into housing.

“Fundamentally, we need more housing opportunities that are affordable for Coloradans for them to live a high-quality lifestyle and hopefully for them to get into homeownership and build equity,” he said, “but also for our economy to thrive and be able to attract workers to the dynamic and thriving Pikes Peak region.”

Polis also touched on the need for Colorado to improve mental health services, crediting a series of articles that ran in The Gazette which shined a light on shortcomings in such services across the state.

He ended his speech on an optimistic note.

“Despite everything the Pikes Peak region and the state has been through in the last two years, I know that Coloradans have the grit and grace to rise above any challenge that comes our way,” he said.

VanderWerf and El Paso County Commissioner Longinos Gonzalez said though they appreciated the governor’s time in El Paso County they felt his agenda was ambiguous.

“It was the least informational speech he’s given,” Gonzalez said of Polis’ address.

VanderWerf added, “I’m not sure I heard a lot of concrete solutions.”