Colorado Byline Winter 2016

COLORADO WINTER 2016

PARKS & RECREATION ASSOCIATION

It’s a “Ruff” Life for the Dogs of Pueblo!

CASC Changes Name to AAPS

Byline

GOCO Inspire Grants Give Communities a Chance for Change

Focus: Southeastern Colorado Cañon City, Cripple Creek, El Paso, La Junta, Pueblo, Trinidad, Widefield

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COLORADO Byline

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2016-17 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President’s Letter................................................................................ 4

PARKS & RECREATION ASSOCIATION

PRESIDENT Patrick Hammer Town of Superior 303-499-3675 patrickh@superiorcolorado.gov PRESIDENT-ELECT Jayna Lang City of Lakewood 303-987-5419 jaylan@lakewood.org

CTRS Katherine Crocker Jefferson Center for Mental Health 303-432-5359 katcrocker09@gmail.com DIRECTORS Kit Newland City of Lakewood 303-987-7822 kitnew@lakewood.org

VICE PRESIDENT Becky Richmond South Suburban Parks & Recreation Division 303-730-4613 beckyr@sspr.org

FACILITY MANAGERS Chad Redin Commerce City Parks, Recreation & Golf, 303-289-3663 credin@c3gov.com

AT-LARGE Mike Sexton City of Pueblo Parks & Recreation 719-553-2804 msexton@pueblo.us

FITNESS Tehra Porterfield City of Northglenn 303-450-8947 tporterfield@northglenn.org

SECRETARY/TREASURER Betsy Sweet Denver Parks & Rec 970-333-9013 betsy.sweet@denvergov.org

PARKS Chris Byrnes Foothills Park & Recreation District 303-409-2819 cbyrnes@fhprd.org

AAPS Kate Fisher City of Northglenn 303-450-8841 kfisher@northglenn.org

PLAaY Shelly Shipley City of Thornton 720-977-5916

AQUATICS Ethan Z. Venn Commerce City Parks, Recreation & Golf 303-289-8109 zvenn@c3gov.com

SMALL COMMUNITIES Jay Cochran City of Fort Morgan 970-542-3929 jcochran@cityoffortmorgan.com

CASC Changes Name to AAPS......................................................... 4 Member Spotlight............................................................................... 5 GOGO Inspire Grants.............................................................................6 Ruff Life for Dogs of Pueblo...................................................................8 Southeastern Colorado Focus.............................................................10

ADVERTISER INDEX Aquatic Chemical Solutions................................. Inside Front Cover Children’s Playstructures & Recreation............................................ 9 Delta Timber........................................................................................ 8 Kimley Horn........................................................................Back Cover R.J. Thomas Manufacturing Co., Inc................................................. 5 Southwest Soils/PlaySoft..................................................................13 ADVERTISING IN BYLINE Thank you to our advertisers for your help in supporting COLORADO BYLINE magazine. We kindly ask members to please support our advertisers.

Interested in advertising? Contact Todd Pernsteiner at 952-841-1111 or info@pernsteiner.com.

Shelly.Shipley@cityofthornton.net

CARA Brian Magnett City of Northglenn 303-450-8899 bmagnett@northglenn.org

WESTERN SLOPE Justin Mashburn Montrose Recreation District 970-901-5583 jmashburn@montroserec.com

CPRA STAFF Allison Kincaid, Executive Director allisonk@cpra-web.org Ashley Perillo, Professional Development Program Manager ashleyp@cpra-web.org Natalie Flowers, Communications and Office Assistant natalief@cpra-web.org Amanda Drinkard, Office Assistant & Student Intern amandad@cpra-web.org

CPRA VISION P.O. Box 1037 • Wheat Ridge, CO 80034 (p) 303-231-0943 (f) 303-237-9750 www.cpra-web.org, cpra@cpra-web.org

The Colorado Parks and Recreation Association is a dynamic, proactive organization that creates healthy residents and livable communities by promoting excellence in parks and recreation.

Winter 2016 • Colorado Parks and Recreation 3

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

By CPRA Board President, Patrick Hammer, CPRA Board, and CPRA Staff

Ask a fellow CPRA member what they value most about their participation in the Association and you’ll likely receive a response that includes words like networking, connecting, learning, growing, etc. More than 1,000 Park and Recreation professionals in Colorado, like you, have made the choice to be members of CPRA which in turn has created exponential opportunities to share information and experiences with other colleagues in the industry. As cliché as it may sound, our access and ability to learn from one another may be our greatest strength as an Association. One would be hard-pressed to find a group of professionals as diverse as those that work in Parks and Recreation. Regardless of responsibility level, title or Section affiliation, we are people who are passionate about serving others. On an individual level we all accomplish admirable feats; collectively within our organizations and within this Association we make impactful changes that improve people’s lives and environments. It’s who we are and what we do 365 days per year and CPRA is the mechanism that brings us together.

It’s hard to believe that 2015 has come and gone. It was a productive year for CPRA marked with several highlights.

Membership numbers and vendor relationships remained strong, we experienced record attendance at the annual conference in Breckenridge, Preschool Licensing Activities and Youth (PLAaY) was officially recognized as a Section, the Board adopted a financial reserve and investment policy and most importantly over 70 professional opportunities were hosted for members.

In May and June the CPRA Executive Board and staff met to create the 2015-2017 Operational Action Plan with the goal of aligning CPRA’s operations with membership needs and expectations. The Plan serves as an evolutionary step in achieving the Association-wide goals identified in the 2012 CPRA Vision Plan that was created with the help from so many of you. Over the next two years the Board and staff will focus attention on Engaging Today’s CPRA Member, Providing Relevant Service Delivery and Financial Sustainability.

Dedicating resources to achieving these principles will position CPRA and members for long term success. Please visit CPRA’s Board webpage for our 2016-17 for our Operational Action Plan at www.cpra-web.org/?page=CPRABoard The CPRA Executive Board and staff are looking forward to a busy 2016 and we encourage you to be part of the process. Over 150 members volunteered last year and we hope to surpass that number in 2016. The success of CPRA is predicated on the actions of its members. Please consider actively participating in one of the engagement opportunities offered by CPRA. As we experience the rewards and challenges of 2016 please remember that over 1,000 professionals (and four amazing staff members) are an email or phone call away.

Patrick Hammer, CPRA Board, and CPRA Staff

CASC Changes Name to AAPS Colorado Parks and Recreation Association is pleased to announce exciting new changes to one of our Sections.

Colorado Association of Senior Centers (CASC) voted on December 4, 2015 to change its name. This change was made in an effort to broaden CASC’s member base, be more inclusive, and create additional opportunities for members of the Section and CPRA. Join us in welcoming the newly named Active Adult Programming and Services (AAPS) Section as the new name and look for new events, trainings,

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networking opportunities, and much more in 2016. AAPS’s efforts will remain targeted toward Senior Programming, however the Section is excited to broaden its work to include all adult programming and service opportunities. If you work with adults, seniors, programming, sports, trips, and/ or parks and recreation this may be a great CPRA Section for you to join and be a part of. Keep an eye out on the AAPS webpage, www.cpra-web.org/group/AAPS, for upcoming events, trainings, and meetings.

Member Spotlight Meet Sarah Braun Sarah Braun is a dynamic CTRS and team member of the City of Colorado Springs Therapeutic Recreation Program (TRP). She is also the current President of the Colorado Therapeutic Recreation Society.

Originally from Michigan, Sarah ventured to Colorado the summer of 2006 to Sarah Braun (right) and one of her rec participants complete an internship with the TRP as she believed in its mission of providing opportunities for individuals with disabilities to acquire skills that enable them to participate in leisure experiences of their choice and enhance their abilities to function within the community. Upon completion of her internship she elected to remain with the TRP to continue sharing and developing her skills. Since 2006, Sarah has had the opportunity to work with a variety of individuals and programs. Her experiences range from working with youth in summer camps, to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to youth and adults with physical disabilities, to veterans and injured service members. She is an active programmer in the TRP’s five core areas of Arts and Culture, Community Integration/ Leisure Education, Social Enrichment, Outdoor Adventures, and Sports, Fitness and Aquatics.

Sarah’s vision is to be a positive influence by serving others. She especially enjoys watching participants succeed and her excellent customer service enables people to do that. Although Sarah likes being a part of all five core area programs, she especially enjoys the Aqua-Rehab class for people with physical disabilities, the Mixed Emotions Dance Troupe for adults with developmental disabilities, the Paralympic Sport Club adaptive sports, and all activities offered through Outdoor Adventures.

Sarah is a joy to work with and her willingness to go the extra mile is exemplary. Her compassion, smile, and energy are her trademarks. Colorado Springs is a better place because of her commitment and dedication to making a difference in the lives of people with disabilities.

Winter 2016 • Colorado Parks and Recreation 5

GOCO Inspire Grants Give Southeastern Colorado Communities a Chance for Change

By Laura Cardon

In Lamar, it started in 2008 with the designation as a LiveWell Colorado community.

In Pueblo, it started in 2014 with the Plug Into Nature study.

And in 2015, GOCO started a new path forward to get kids off the couch and out the door. When the organization toured the state as it shaped its strategic plan in 2014, GOCO heard one thing loud and clear.

Coloradans were concerned children weren’t getting outside as much as they should be, which echoed a growing body of research describing growing childhood obesity, less time spent outdoors, and more time spent glued in front of a screen.

“When GOCO staff came to Lamar [during the strategic plan tour], the conversation was real,” LiveWell Prowers County Coordinator Emily Nieschburg recalled. “What GOCO heard is the reality that these kids live in. Part of the conversation was, ‘How many of you have gone camping?’ And it wasn’t many.”

“They were very upfront,” she continued. “[For example,] ‘I don’t camping because my mom is a single mom, or my mom works two jobs, or we have four kids and we don’t have sleeping bags and we don’t have a tent and that stuff isn’t a reality.

[Going camping] means my mom has to take days of off work and she can’t do that.’”

And so Inspire was born: a five-year, $25 million initiative from GOCO that would invest in breaking down barriers keeping kids from accessing the great outdoors in Colorado. Grant applications came in from all corners of the state, and in October 2014 Lamar and Pueblo were announced as Inspire communities.

In Lamar, one of the six pilots, momentum had been building for the last seven years following their designation as a LiveWell Colorado community. It kick-started the conversation about how to make Prowers County a place where people live well – a community where kids play outside and families eat better and where people of all ages are connected to where they live.

free swimming at our swimming pool. We had events all day long at one of our biggest parks in the community. To have 800 people and connect with a park and their community – it just felt like things were starting to change.”

Lamar really harnessed that momentum when their community secured funding for a KaBOOM! grant.

KaBOOM! funding invites kids and community members to design their dream playground, culminating in a six-hour community day to construct the entire project at once.

Northside Park’s play equipment was aging, the park was rundown and dull, and people were afraid to let their children play there. The park was creating an identity for its neighborhood that residents didn’t want to continue. When it came to build day, hundreds of residents descended on the park.

“We saw people start to own this work, meaning creating a better community, investing in recreation and outdoor experience were what people were really wanting to have happen. And starting really see value in parks,” Nieschburg described.

Part of the park’s success was due to the fact that Nieschburg and her colleagues were determined to make this park not only built for the people, but by the people.

“We made a very strong commitment that it wasn’t going to be just organizations building this park. It was going to be true residents. People that are just there because they believe in their community,” Nieschburg said.

She quickly realized that if community members are given the opportunity to lead, they will seize it. This was especially true of the youngest Lamar residents; kids were so enthusiastic about their involvement with KaBOOM! that LiveWell Prowers County created a permanent youth leadership component of their afterschool programming.

LiveWell Prowers County originally focused on institutional improvements in healthcare, early childhood education, and in school programming, but the program continued to struggle to engage the entire community.

One Step Up started with about 20 kids from third to twelfth grade that were so eager to improve their community they insisted on working over spring and even summer breaks.

Today, there are 40 children and teens engaged with One Step Up, all of whom were integral to the application process for an Inspire grant from GOCO.

“So we had Family Fun Day,” Nieschburg said. “And we pulled off the event of a lifetime in Lamar. We had over 800 people come to the park. We had an outdoor movie under the stars,

GOCO was looking for communities that had the sort of momentum that was quickly gaining in Lamar. What started as a slow simmer to improve community health was rapidly reaching

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a boiling point, where residents were engaged and eager to tackle the obstacles keeping their children from getting outdoors.

Nieschburg explained that without GOCO funding, the big plans Lamar is forming could take decades to carry out.

“We have this hope. We have this vision. But we can’t do it alone,” Nieschburg acknowledged. “We don’t have the funding to do this all by ourselves, and it was up to us to come up with the millions of dollars that it may take to address some of these issues, it would be a 30-year project, versus making some really substantial changes in our community in three or four years.”

Lamar and the five other pilots are well on their way to making a change in their community, which netted them a $100,000 planning grant from GOCO. The pilot coalitions have just 12 months to reapply for funding to implement their plan, while Tier 2 communities have 18 months to further develop the energy pilot communities have already captured.

Pueblo is one of those Tier 2 communities and will utilize the extra six months and a $50,000 grant to expand and finalize their coalition of partners and get underway with community engagement. The city recently completed its Plug Into Nature study, which analyzed why kids weren’t spending time outdoors.

In addition to an unsurprising addiction to technology, Plug Into Nature showed a lack of walkability that prevented many Pueblo residents from accessing the city’s park systems, compounded by a lack of awareness.

“Gathering all of that information really helped us start defining the areas that we needed to pinpoint [for Inspire],” City Senior Planner Todd Zeiller explained. “We started asking some questions and tried to determine how we could overcome some of these barriers.”

Many residents didn’t know about close-to-home recreation available to them in Pueblo, including the Arkansas Riverwalk and trail system, the Nature and Raptor Center of Pueblo, and nearby state and mountain parks.

“We’re excited to bring [Inspire] out into the community and get people interested in what this state has to offer and what this city has to offer. It’s a shame to not take advantage of those things just because you’re not aware of them,” Zeiller continued.

most of the next 18 months. The first step is combating that lack of awareness, particularly when it comes to the Inspire grant itself and subsequent planning process.

“We’ve got to expand our stakeholder interests and engage all the folks who are out there to make sure we have somewhat of a domino effect,” Zeiller explained.

Zeiller hopes what will start with community meetings will spread to word of mouth, which will help identify leaders within the community. Kids will also be put in the driver’s seat through existing youth programming.

“We’re going engage kids and the community, to ask them to look at something new and see what they are really interested in and what they would like us to do,” Zeiller said. “Steering the project through the eyes of the kids is a really important aspect of this grant.”

As both Lamar and Pueblo move furiously forward with their Inspire planning, kids are sure to be a major part of the process. Every Inspire community is required to form a youth advisory council to guide the planning process.

With millions of dollars in funding up for grabs, they’re sure to make an impact.

Nieschburg summed it up best.

“We don’t have all the answers yet, but I know that if we can really have some true conversations in our community around those barriers, we can make it easier as a community.”

Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) invests a portion of Colorado Lottery proceeds to help preserve and enhance the state’s parks, trails, wildlife, rivers and open spaces. GOCO’s independent board awards competitive grants to local governments and land trusts, and makes investments through Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Created when voters approved a Constitutional Amendment in 1992, GOCO has since funded more than 4,500 projects in urban and rural areas in all 64 counties without any tax dollar support. Visit goco.org for more information.

The GOCO Inspire Initiative will award $25 million over the next five years to help Colorado communities get kids outside.

For more information about Inspire, visit goco.org/inspire.

To get involved in efforts in Lamar contact Emily Nieschburg; for Pueblo, contact Todd Zeiller.

For now, Pueblo is focused on using their funding to make the Fall 2015 • Colorado Parks and Recreation 7

It’s a “Ruff” Life for the Dogs of Pueblo!

By Brooke Christopher, Colorado Lottery This fall, the City of Pueblo was honored with a Colorado Lottery Starburst Award for using Lottery funds to help revitalize the 2.5-acre dog park at City Park. Upgrades to the dog park were made possible by leveraging $138,677 from the Conservation Trust Fund, which receives 40 percent of Lottery proceeds each year.

The dog park, originally built in 2008, received a major facelift this year. The renovation project included updates to the irrigation system, ADA access, sidewalks, shade structures, signage, fencing, and lighting. The addition of doggie drinking fountains, bone-shaped benches, and unique trash receptacles make the park almost unrecognizable from its former self. The overhaul helped create an area within City Park for dogs and their owners to socialize in a safe environment. The project was completed by utilizing local builders and vendors, helping to reinforce a sense of community ownership. With City Park located on a main thoroughfare through Pueblo, the new dog park also provides an opportunity for visitors to stop and let their pups stretch their legs while passing through town.

The Lottery has returned more than $2.8 billion back to the state of Colorado for parks, recreation, open space acquisition, trails, and wildlife and conservation education. To date, more than $56.7 million in Lottery proceeds have enhanced and protected the outdoors in Pueblo County alone.

Lottery proceeds are distributed to three primary beneficiaries: Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), the Conservation Trust Fund, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife. These organizations provide grants and direct funding benefiting the Colorado outdoors.

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˜ CITY CANON The Arkansas Riverwalk Trail is a 10+ mile trail system offering scenic views and river access as it winds its way through Cañon City in South Central Colorado. The trail has been a fixture of the community since 1988, adding amenities such as handicapped fishing access and a ropes course as it expanded east and west. This fall, through a cooperative effort with the Cañon Land Walkers and Hikers, the Cañon City Chamber Leadership Program and the Cañon City Area Recreation and Park District, five fitness stations were installed along the trail in John Griffin Regional Park, an open space, natural area in the middle of the trail system.

Utilizing engineering and building expertise by members of the Walkers and Hikers, a local Go-Fund Me campaign and

a donation of materials from a local lumber company, the elements were built using materials to blend into the natural scenery of the park. With the elements in place, trail visitors can expand their fitness routines by using a stretching platform, balance beams, a push-up/sit-up station, a step station or the pull-up/chin-up bars. Each station will include informational signage on proper use. The group intends to install another five elements on the eastern side of the park in the spring, after trail renovation work is completed this winter.

To discover more about the Arkansas Riverwalk Trail in Cañon City, visit the Cañon City Area Recreation and Park District’s website at www.ccrec.org.

Photos courtesy of Cañon City

10 Colorado Parks and Recreation • www.cpra-web.org

CRIPPLE CREEK LAYING SOLID COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS BY LEVERAGING LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS Every community lays claim to unique characteristics that can manifest themselves as benefits or challenges from a Parks and Recreation standpoint.

Sometimes the perceived challenges can become the opportunities if properly leveraged.

Cripple Creek has a lot to boast about; it sits at 9600 feet above sea level, with breathtaking views, a colorful history, ample open space and an eclectic population. Our Parks and Recreation Department takes full advantage of Cripple Creek’s inherent bounty with outdoor hiking trails, a BMX track, archery ranges, skateboard park, ample special events and much more.

Once well-known for gold mining, brothels and gambling—Cripple Creek continues portions of that legacy today as the city’s rural nature is still coupled with a thriving gaming industry and an active gold-mining operation which helps drive the local economy. But with mining and gambling comes less-than-conventional work hours.

And there is also a sizable population of low-income families and at-risk youth in our community. These demographics, along with our rural standing, allow us to take advantage of federal assistance that can help our neighbors needing assistance and change the trajectory of the future.

Cripple Creek Parks and Recreation is now a proud partner with a new Early Head Start/ Child Care Partnership grant that will provide child care services to infants and toddlers.

The partnership will enhance and support early learning setting to provides full-day, full-year (24/7) comprehensive services that meet the needs of low-income working families; enhance access to high-quality, full time care; support the development of infants and toddlers through strong relationship based experiences; and prepare them for the transition into preschool. Nationally, we are 1 of 200 grantees awarded and 1 of 4 in Colorado bringing $900,000/year to our community.

Numerous studies tout the efficacy of early childhood education on future scholarly performance and partnerships with programs like Early Head Start help communities like ours lay groundwork for a strong future generation that will continue to improve the living standards and programs available in communities like ours. Communities that boast so much to begin with but that also have the aptitude to become so much more, including our Parks and Recreation offerings. By accentuating the bounty and leveraging the challenges we hope to continue to build a stronger Parks and Recreation Department and community at large.

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EL PASO El Paso County Parks was created in 1971 to provide parks and recreation services for the residents in El Paso County, a frontrange County located approximately 60 miles south of Denver.

El Paso County is fortunate to have some of Colorado’s most striking and diverse landscapes from Pikes Peak, to Garden of the Gods, to the eastern plains. The County’s current population is 655,000 making it one of the most populated counties in Colorado.

The initial plan for El Paso County Parks included creating neighborhood and community parks in the cities, towns and unincorporated areas in El Paso County. By 1976, County leadership recognized the expense of maintaining multiple small park facilities throughout the County and elected to create a regional park system to complement parks and recreation services offered by other governmental jurisdictions in the County. Most county parks are 200 acres or larger with 80% of the property dedicated as open space. The remaining 20% of the park include active areas that host a variety of social, athletic, and special events.

Today, El Paso County Parks consists of 8,000 acres of parks and open space, 105 miles of trails, multiple athletic fields, pavilions, dog parks, and special event areas. Over 2,000 facility reservations involving over 100,000 park users are

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completed each year. El Paso County Parks also manages over 2,500 acres of conservation easements.

El Paso County Parks operates two nationally recognized nature centers, County Fairgrounds, and offers over 1,000 environmental education and community recreation programs for residents and visitors. A variety of special events are offered each year including the annual County Fair, Pikes Peak Birding and Nature Festival, Zombie Run, and the new Fountain Creek Festival that will be launched in 2016.

The El Paso County citizens approved a Tabor refund ballot issue in 2014 by 70% to allow County Parks to utilize $2 million of excess County revenues to be used for upgrading and expanding park facilities. These funds will be coupled with dedicated park fees, grants, and donations to complete $4 million of investments in the County park system.

ONE OF THE MORE POPULAR SUMMER ATTRACTIONS IS THE 138,000 SQ FT WATER PARK KNOWN AS THE WIPEOUT POOL & WATERSLIDE.

LA JUNTA In 1875 along the Historic Santa Fe Trail there became a crossing (gathering place) where travelers had to choose their routes.

To follow the Arkansas River to the west into the high mountain passes or go to the south and take the route to the vast plains. It was a hub of commercial firms and commonplace to see 500 mule teams on the streets of La Junta. In 1879 the Santa Fe Railroad (Now the Burlington Northern/ Santa Fe Railroad) built its headquarters there and Santa Fe shops were established and the town was expanded to its present day population of 7,000. In Spanish the word “La Junta” means The Junction or Crossing.

La Junta is directly 60 miles east of Pueblo, 90 miles to the Kansas border, 100 miles to the New Mexico border and 130 miles to the Oklahoma state line. La Junta is a small rural city with friendly, healthy and happy people. Some of the unique amenities they have to offer are Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site, Comanche National Grassland, Jurassic Period Dinosaur Tracks, Koshare Indian Museum & Dancers, 9 Hole Championship Golf Course, Municipal Airport with a Regional Air Ambulance Service. 6 Baseball & softball diamonds that are home to both La Junta High School & Otero Jr. College teams and with the average high temp at 72F there were over 550 games played in 10 months in 2015.

One of the more popular summer attractions is the 138,000 sq ft water park known as the Wipeout Pool & Waterslide.

This water park features two 20 ft high waterslides known as The Tigers Tail Speed Slide that will shoot you well over 30 ft across the water & The Wild Blue Wave Slide that is a thrill for everyone. These two slides total 184 ft in length and are advertized as “The Longest, Wettest Ride in South Eastern Colorado” because no one east of I-25 has what La Junta has to offer. So venture out on the eastern plains of Colorado and come and see La Junta’s Hidden Gem. Check out La Junta on Facebook at: La Junta Parks & Rec.

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Winter 2016 • Colorado Parks and Recreation 13

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PUEBLO PUEBLO’S NEWEST GEM - EL CENTRO DEL QUINTO SOL PARK

By Michael C. Sexton CPRP, Assistant Parks and Recreation Director, City of Pueblo When you think of Pueblo, Colorado you think of the Home of Heroes, Pueblo Chiles, Gold Medal Water fly-fishing, the Colorado State Fair, an awesome golf experience at Walking Stick Golf Course, and a wealth of sunshine year around! Now you can add skateboarding to that list!

Pueblo’s newest park, the El Centro del Quinto Sol Skateboard Park Project, opened on December 21 after months of anticipation. The project was made possible thanks to a generous $1.3 million Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) grant. This $2.5 million project includes a 23,000 square foot wheel-park that consists of a street plaza component as well as bowls of varied depth which are separated by a festival plaza with amphitheater, Fountain Creek trail renovations, beach area, and community garden. An additional $195,000 Community Development Block Grant will fund a new playground, new restroom fixtures and a parking lot overlay making this park one of Pueblo’s finest.

In June 2012, Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) awarded the City of Pueblo just over $1.3 million for the El Centro del Quinto Sol Skate Park Project. The City matched the GOCO grant with an additional $1.2 million which brought the total project budget to just over $2.5 million. Design Concepts of Lafayette, CO designed the new park and trail portion of the project and partnered with Florida-based Team Pain Skate Parks to design the wheel park portion of the project. Team Pain considers the El Centro project hands down one of the best street skate plazas they have designed and constructed in recent years.

Numerous meetings were held to gain public input as to what the community wanted in the new park.

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The designers took inspiration from the adjacent creek’s ripple effects, the natural landscape and the surrounding colors to provide the unique custom design concept of the wheel-park.

The skate park is designed for all levels of users, champion pro and beginners simultaneously.

The Pueblo Parks and Recreation Department, the El Centro Board of Directors and numerous skate boarding enthusiasts are in the planning stages of organizing and hosting a grand opening of the park to include: a ribbon cutting ceremony, a skating tournament, entertainment and food truck vendors.

The grand opening is tentatively set for Saturday, May 14, 2016.

Any business, organization or community members wanting to contribute to this event in the way of participation, sponsorship, donations or volunteering, please contact the El Centro del Quinto Sol Recreation Center at 719-542-5648 or email parks@ pueblo.us.

The park is located at 609 E. 6th Street adjacent to the El Cento del Quinto Sol Community Recreation Center in Pueblo. For more information please visit our website at www.pueblo. us/100/Parks-Recreation.

TRINIDAD The City of Trinidad provides a variety of recreation programs for youth and adults through the City’s Recreation Department. We offer basketball, baseball, volleyball, pee wee football, and youth full contact football as well adult basketball, volleyball, softball, and aerobic classes. Volunteers are a big part of the success of these programs, and we are very appreciative for their continued efforts.

Trinidad has an overall park area of 97.72 acres with a population of 9,078 people, which calculates to an overall level of service of 10.76. This includes baseball fields, soccer and utility fields and the river walk. We have various lakes within close proximity of Trinidad which contribute to our City Motto of “Welcoming Adventurers Since 1876.”

New projects are on the horizon that are creating excitement within our community, such as a Dog Park and Tennis Courts. The City of Trinidad and Partners are making these services available for full time fun and activity.

So much of who we are starts in our parks system. We face many challenges, but through leadership, communication, and working together we can change those challenges into strengths that contribute to the adventurous heart we all know and love.

WIDEFIELD Widefield is located on the southern end of Colorado Springs. It is the largest unincorporated community in the state with 58 square miles and a population of over 50,000.

Not only is this unique, but it is also the only parks and recreation department in the state that is owned and operated by a school district, Widefield School District 3.

The Community Center has many of your standard parks and recreation programming from youth sports, adult sports, aquatics and fitness to arts and cultural services and preschool. The difference is that being tied with the school district the high schools utilize Community Center facilities for practices and competition; baseball, softball, tennis, swimming and cross country. In turn the Community Center utilizes the schools’ gymnasiums for youth and adult practices and games, as well as martial art and fitness classes.

The Community Center recently opened Barnstormer’s Park in a new development, working with the home developer and El Paso County (Pikes Peak Urban Grant) for funding along with the Lottery Conservation Trust Fund. Renovations are currently underway on Pi-Ute Park, the oldest park in the area.

New landscaping and sidewalks were put in to allow handicap access to the middle of the park, as well as park benches

installed for picnics and relaxation. The Community Center staff is very excited about the new amphitheater which will be programmed with concerts, movies, guest speakers, and of course theatre events. A climbing themed playground will be added with a zip-line and boulders.

The Widefield Community Center staff has been working with GreenPlay for the last eight months to develop a master plan that will provide a road map for the next ten years. The hope is that it will give the insight to work with neighboring agencies to build a new recreation center that this area desperately needs and deserves. The future looks bright and the Widefield Community Center staff and community are looking forward to what the next few years will bring.

Winter 2016 • Colorado Parks and Recreation 15

COLORADO Byline PARKS & RECREATION ASSOCIATION

P.O. Box 1037 Wheat Ridge, CO 80034

Reach Hundreds of Park & Recreation Professionals Advertise in the Colorado Byline!

Rates start as low as $400 per issue Get into the Spring/Summer issue!

Ad deadline: April 8, 2016 • Mails: May 2016

To purchase ad space contact: Todd Pernsteiner info@pernsteiner.com or (952) 841-1111

• Regional Parks

• Aquatic Centers

• Playgrounds

• Trails

• Community Parks

• Splash Pads

• Sports Fields

• Public Spaces

• Neighborhood Parks

• Linear Parks

• Sports Lighting

• Multimodal/Shared-Use Pathways

• Greenways

• Wayfinding

• Sustainable Design

• Sports Complexes

• Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plans

• Park Renovation and Rehabilitation Plans

Contact Chris Hice, PLA, LEED AP: 303.228.2300 • chris.hice@kimley-horn.com

Offices in Denver and Colorado Springs

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