The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
GOCO is happy to help out in Gunnison
Gunnison County received an early holiday treat from GOCO (Great Outdoors Colorado) this year: $757,823 from a $6.8-million pool of state lotto-funded grants for an assortment of outdoor projects, including $350,000 to repair features at the Whitewater Park, a grant the county sought yet was denied back in the spring.
The manmade features that create the waves and eddies formed west of County Road 38 no longer carry out their respective duties. The waves have shrunk in size and the eddies aren’t pooling like they should. Recent examinations concluded that without repairs the features could fail sooner than later, destabilizing the river and creating a severe public hazard.
“GOCO is really looking forward to helping the Gunnison Whitewater Park reopen, not only to increase access to outdoor recreation but also to restore a highly beneficial source of income for the County,” said Laura Cardon of Great Outdoors Colorado.
The 12-year-old underwater structures were designed to create whitewater features unlike any others in the area and are considered a tourist attraction, even promoted as such. Users include local students, recreational boaters and fishermen, commercial rafting companies and more.
According to a recent GOCO press release, “Not only is the Park a valuable recreational and educational amenity, it is a significant economic driver for the Gunnison Valley. In addition, the Park and its recreational uses helped secure a Recreational Inflow Water Right for the Gunnison River Basin ranging from 270 cfs to 1,200 cfs. This water right is permanent and preserves healthy river flows, a sustainable water source for local communities and a livable habitat for wildlife.”
The Whitewater Park has proven its value to the Gunnison Valley, as shown by various matching funds contributions from community partners. The city of Gunnison matched $18,000; the Gunnison roundtable of the Colorado Water Conservation Board put up $10,000; the Gunnison River Festival and 1% for Open Space each chipped in $5,000; Western State Colorado University gave $3,000; and the town of Crested Butte gave $500. The Colorado Water Conservation Board also granted $50,000 toward the park’s reconstruction and preservation. All this plus in-kind contributions bring the total project budget to almost $600,000.
Due to possible safety hazards, the firm doing the design work, McLaughlin Whitewater Design Group (MWDG), recommended replacing underwater structures #2 and #3. Although no damage was found at the first feature, which boaters encounter upriver from the second and third features, MWDG foresees future problems if structural modifications are not implemented over time.
Gunnison County public works director Marlene Crosby said, “While we are working on design work we will be developing a ‘Statement of Qualifications’ identifying those criteria that we think a contractor must meet to be able to bid on this project. Some of those requirements would be things like previous construction of whitewater park features, work in a river during winter conditions, etc. Those submittals would be reviewed while McLaughlin is working on the final design. When the design is ready we would request bids from the contractors who had met the criteria.”
Crosby said that while MWDG works on designing the structures, the county public works department is looking for additional funding and Bio Environs Inc. is working on USACE (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) Nation Wide Permits #3 (Maintenance) and #33 (Temporary Construction, Access and Dewatering).
The grant requires that the project be completed within two years. When the GOCO grant comes in, county manager Matthew Birnie has been authorized by the BOCC to sign it.
The remaining $407,823 from the original $757,823 in grant money will help purchase the Promontory Ranch land at the base of Snodgrass and continue construction on the Baxter Gulch Trail project.
