The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Master plan final draft released; fields/parks, rec centers and outdoor amphitheaters also on the shortlist
By Katherine Nettles
The importance of connecting recreation paths up and down valley has risen to the top of the Gunnison County Metropolitan Recreation District (MetRec) priorities in the final draft for its regional master plan, released last month. The next three priorities are multi-use field spaces, parks and playgrounds, multi-use indoor recreation facilities and outdoor amphitheaters. The idea for an extensive rec center in the North Valley is still in the plan but has been pushed down in priority and the board is looking at different ways to meet the indoor recreation needs.
MetRec will kick off a rec path planning process this year, has already addressed some field space upgrades and has started discussing how to address the other priorities identified in the plan in both the short-term and longer term.
Rec path connectivity emerged as the top choice among several priorities from MetRec’s master planning process, which began in March of 2024. The plan is intended to provide a road map to guide the district’s decision-making and efforts for the next five to 10 years, and it includes “recommended strategies and phased action steps” to improve “the health and welfare of MetRec’s residents through parks and recreation,” according to the document.
MetRec hired the consulting firm Norris Design to help with the process, and Norris representatives reviewed the master plan process, final draft and implications with the MetRec board of directors during the district’s meeting on January 29.
Tori Aidala, a senior associate with Norris walked the board and meeting attendees through the planning document which included a deep dive into MetRec’s vision, goals, an inventory of regional infrastructures and facilities, creating advisory committees for both the north and south subdistricts and collecting community feedback through surveys and stakeholder meetings. This was the first master plan the district has ever created for recreation.
The rec path planning was identified as a top need overall, particularly from Crested Butte to CB South and Crested Butte to Gunnison. Aidala said rec paths are important enough to the community, based on surveys and interviews, to warrant taking on in 2025 starting with a Rec Path Master Plan.
“This became so important that MetRec is considering kicking it off this summer,” she said. She described the need among community members and visitors throughout the valley not only getting to and from school, trail destinations, parks and commerce, but doing so safely.
The master plan categorizes implementation into three areas: short-term (one to three years), mid-term (three to five years) and long-term (five-plus years).
The main short-term priority identified in the master plan was to address outdoor fields, parks and playgrounds. MetRec has since agreed to help fund a turf field at the Crested Butte Community School, as previously reported in the Crested Butte News, and as a result will indirectly support the school district having the funds to renovate one field and add another at the Gunnison Middle School. There is also a practice field planned for the Whetstone Community Housing project across from Brush Creek Road and one renovated full-size field planned for Crested Butte South which MetRec might get involved in.
The master plan calls for adding a park and playground to the south district, improving accessibility for existing rec facilities and adding parks and playgrounds for unincorporated communities throughout the county in the near to mid-term.
Next, the master plan’s long-term plan calls for improved and added indoor recreation facilities at both ends of the valley. The first draft of the regional plan placed the possibility of a major recreation center for the North Valley which would include indoor field space, a climbing wall, fitness center, meeting spaces and aquatic amenities, cost up to $83 million and require a public vote to fund. After some public criticism about the costs and lack of location for such a structure MetRec has backed off that concept slightly, maintaining that there is potential for a maxed-out facility but also identifying options for a more basic facility and goals to add indoor programming to and expand or renovate existing facilities.
“The indoor recreation amenities and costs included in this plan are conceptual and further study will need to be completed,” states the final draft. It identifies that the next step is conducting a feasibility study to determine the “right size” of indoor rec amenities, including funding opportunities and constraints, site availability and size, parking space needs, long-term operations/revenue and additional community input. The planning team said the soonest such a facility could materialize in the North Valley would be 2031.
Last, the plan calls for two new outdoor amphitheaters—one in the north and one in the south district, to serve arts and culture needs. The planning team used examples of amphitheaters in Salida and Montrose to illustrate the concept.
MetRec board members then opened the conversation with board comments and public comment.
Attendee John O’Neal said it was an incredible plan, but ambitious. “My question is what kind of capacity does the organization need to do all this stuff…to really lead and accomplish all of this is going to take a lot of human energy,” he said.
MetRec board member Keith Bauer said MetRec is starting small and trying to knock things off one at a time. “It’s a decades-long plan,” he emphasized.
Aidala emphasized the importance of strategic partnerships with other stakeholders and program providers to accomplish the goals. She said it is up to MetRec to use the document to make decisions.
“This plan is kind of turning over the rock of what the needs are,” said MetRec executive director Derrick Nehrenberg. “I wouldn’t necessarily say we’re committing to going full steam ahead on all of this. I think we’re going to have to prioritize very carefully.” He said MetRec will be going on a “listening tour” in 2025 followed by conducting a feasibility study for most if not every item the board might agree to do. But he said by connecting regional groups, municipalities and government entities he believes they can achieve the whole plan over time.
Elizabeth Giles from the Gunnison Senior Center said she had been on a master plan advisory committee, and her interpretation was the MetRec will collaborate with other entities. “It’s embedded in partnership. It’s not about MetRec doing the whole thing,” she said. “It’s really the whole valley doing it together with MetRec playing the leadership role.”
Norris reps concurred that with MetRec being a somewhat “fledgling” recreation organization, this plan will take time to scale up.
Board member Earl Marshall spoke to the immediate impact that MetRec could have by building a comprehensive list of regional rec program information which they had already gathered for this planning document to help people navigate the options, schedules, timelines and requirements throughout the valley. “We and especially parents, know that figuring out what program is even available is a huge hurdle,” said Marshall.
Aidala suggested MetRec share that information on their website. “So, people can go to whatever activity they are looking for,” she said, and learn who to contact or what website to visit. “Having one place for people to access that information would be really helpful,” she agreed. The board decided to look into it at their next meeting.
Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association (CBMBA) executive director Dave Ochs commented that MetRec’s already established community grant program has been hugely helpful to nonprofits in the valley. He also said he and his CBMBA board of directors were happy to see Met Rec address rec path connectivity.
“We’re 20 years overdue on a rec path and connectivity plan,” he said. “This community is so trail and recreation heavy and we don’t even have the basic infrastructure to connect those parts and pieces—let alone the safety.” Ochs also said on a personal level, as a father he sees the need for kids to have an indoor space to simply throw a ball when it is dark and cold outside. “I don’t want to see them turn to the street or to TikTok,” he quipped. “I love that they want to do these things, they just don’t have that opportunity. And other communities do.” He overall thanked the board for putting its priorities together.
The full master plan document can be found online at gcmetrec.com/masterplan.
