The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Local fitness community lobbies for facility in town building
By Mark Reaman
The Gunnison County Metropolitan Recreation District (MetRec) provided the Crested Butte town council with an update of its master plan that was adopted earlier this year and during the June 16 meeting, there was a built-in audience for some of its goals. A group of about a dozen people had showed up to the council to lobby for an indoor fitness facility given the planned closing of the Elevation Hotel’s gym as part of its upcoming renovation and shift to The Beckwith. They hoped the town council would consider using the old fire hall facility once it is vacated when the new fire facility north of town is completed, or doing an expansion of Jerry’s Gym.
MetRec executive director Derrick Nehrenberg told the council and the audience that he continues to hear the “strong desire” at both ends of the valley for improved indoor recreation facilities. Based on recent MetRec surveys, those in the South Valley have additional fitness areas as the number one priority for indoor recreation. In the North Valley, a place for lap swimming was the first priority while more fitness areas was fourth on the list after a pool, and multi-activity gymnasium.
Those lobbying the council for a North Valley fitness facility in town said that with the impending closure of the Elevation gym, there weren’t many opportunities for such activity near CB. They consistently lauded the mental health benefits and community building aspects of having such a facility. Given their request came during the public comment section of the council meeting, councilmembers did not respond to their requests.
Nehrenberg, however, said MetRec was open to hearing their concerns and requests. “Our budget is growing, and we are looking to provide regional capacity solutions,” he said. “Feel free to reach out to me about this.” And at the end of his presentation, they did, as the audience followed him out from the council chambers at the end of his presentation to chat.
Before that however, Nehrenberg hit some highlights of the MetRec master plan. He noted that 91% of survey respondents said outdoor recreation was “extremely important” to them. In that vein the MetRec board has prioritized focusing on more recreation paths that could connect various communities like a Crested Butte to Crested Butte South or Gunnison to Hartman Rocks recreation path.
Other current priorities for MetRec include elevating the organization’s grant program, providing regional leadership for community recreational needs, supporting development of fields, parks and playgrounds and supporting development of multi-use indoor recreational facilities. Nehrenberg said the desire for performing arts amphitheaters at both ends of the valley surprised him but was added to the list.
He noted the board had made the hard decision to decommission its over-the-air television system. “That was a decision no one wanted to make,” he said, but added that could free up additional revenues.
As for a North Valley rec center, Nehrenberg said MetRec was “a bit of a sleeping giant. The cost for an extensive rec center is about $83 million but stretched out over a 30-year bond, that is actually affordable,” he said. “But we want to be cautious. Even if we went for and got voters to approve a bond issue in 2026, a building wouldn’t be completed until at least 2030. I think introducing a 2026 bond issue is too early, so I think we’ll take a breath and look at strategy.”
Mayor Ian Billick said any strategy should include not just building facilities but also operating costs and future maintenance and replacement costs. “I hear people asking about how the new turf field at the Community School will be replaced in 10 or 15 years when it is time,” he said. “I know while MetRec was a major funder of the field, it’s not MetRec’s responsibility for replacement costs but I hope money is being set aside every year for these situations. I’m not sure the school district can do it. That would help build confidence in the long-term strategy.”
“I appreciate the board’s priority list, but let’s remember what keeps us unique and not focus on urban amenities that we might be missing,” said councilmember Gabi Prochaska. “How do we add to what we have and make it better? We are somewhat unique.”
Councilmember Anna Fenerty said while the master plan was “amazing,” her concern was the time between concept and reality for projects. “There is a huge gap in timing before things can be built. How do we fill in the gaps?” she asked nodding to the audience lobbying for fitness facilities. “I see people leaving the community constantly in such situations.”
“MetRec has a lot of latitude figuring out needs of the community,” Nehrenberg said. “We can come up with unique solutions for our community.”
