Mountain Rec Revitalizes Capital Improvement Project, introduces “All Access Rec”

As our community settles into post-pandemic life, and all Mountain Rec programs and activities are running at max capacity, Mountain Rec is eager to resume proactive planning to ensure our community’s health, wellness, and economic vitality. At the direction of the Mountain Rec Board, our community and staff were instructed to dream big, and dream big they have, as the District embarks on a major capital improvement project – All Access Rec.

Let’s Build Today for a Healthy Tomorrow
“Our services are engrained in our valley’s history, as are our facilities. Countless children have learned to swim, swung their first bat, or kicked their first soccer ball with us.” said Janet Bartnik, Executive Director, Mountain Recreation. “Today, we face a significant challenge: we’re unable to serve many members of the community due to our aging amenities and undersized facilities, built to serve only half of today’s population. We need to increase access to support our thriving community and the only way to do that is by building today for a healthy tomorrow.”

All Access Rec is designed with every age and every season in mind to improve community health and the wellbeing of our residents. With major renovations planned for Edwards, Eagle, and Gypsum, the District’s traditionally athletic facilities will evolve into multi-generational and multi-cultural community hubs. Thanks to these new additions to facilities that will give each hub equal foundational amenities like fitness centers, class studios, gymnasiums, sports courts, locker rooms, and community rooms for behavioral health programs – the District will be able to introduce a new district-wide pass. So, whether you’re at home or at work, an affordable, energizing community hub will be right down the road.

You asked, We Listened
Mountain Rec’s process is a simple one, start with the community and deliver transparency every step of the way. Thanks to community feedback over the past three years, in person and briefly in virtual space, the Mountain Rec board and staff have developed a roadmap that provides increased opportunities for our community to stay active, healthy, and together. Today, tomorrow, and for the next 40 years

Among the top amenities requested by our community were a new fitness center and class studios in Edwards, a new larger outdoor pool, trailhead improvements, and a new fitness center in Eagle, and a new bumped out two-story fitness center and a gymnasium in Gypsum. To view a full list of amenities, visit AllAccessRec.org.

How Will We Pay for This?
The Mountain Rec Board is considering a November 2021 ballot question to support the District’s All Access Rec capital improvement project. The ballot question may ask our voters to adopt a temporary property tax mill levy to help fund bonds to complete its capital improvement project. This project is estimated to cost about $47 per year for every $100,000 of home value in the district, based on spring 2021 market conditions. The last time such a move was made by the District came almost 20 years ago and Mountain Rec paid off the last debt 10 years early.

We Saved You a Seat at the Table
The District was made aware in its most recent survey that as much as half of our community did not know about its current capital improvement efforts in its earlier stages. The District aims to change that as it firmly believes everyone deserves to live healthy and happy – and part of that is equitable access to information.

To further engage our entire community, the Mountain Rec Board and staff are coming to your town this summer to host Q&A events and we want to hear from you! Chat with our board at any of the major community events including ShowDown Town in Eagle on July 1, Gypsum Daze in Gypsum on July 17, and the Outdoor Movie Series in Edwards on August 12. We have also scheduled an additional 30-plus Q&A events with staff this summer across the valley at local community events. To see a full schedule visit AllAccessRec.org.

As always, we pledge to follow the will of the people as they decide how best to address our community’s health and wellbeing. We encourage our community to visit AllAccessRec.org (or AllAccessRec.es in Spanish) to view renderings, a full list of new amenities, cost to in-district taxpayers, subscribe to receive email capital improvement updates, and to submit feedback.