Staff members and contracted consultants briefed the Durango City Council this week on feasible locations for expanding indoor recreational facilities, despite findings that more than half of residents don’t think more space is necessary.
Taxpayers are most interested in seeing the city invest resources in trails, open space and outdoor programming opportunities, according to a statistically valid survey and online survey of residents conducted by Pros Consulting on behalf of the Durango Parks and Recreation Department. The surveys, which included hundreds of residents, showed people are more concerned with expanding, connecting and maintaining the city’s trail system.
Pros Consulting conducted the survey as part of developing the Parks and Recreation Department’s 10-year master plan. The plan is expected to be a road-map for how the department should spend taxpayer dollars received through two dedicated sales tax measures. The Parks and Recreation dedicated taxes account for 0.75% of the city’s 3.5% sales tax.
The online survey found 43% of respondents view a need for additional indoor recreation space, while 57% said it is not worth the investment. Of the 43% of respondents who want more indoor recreational space, 54% said they would be more likely to support expanding existing facilities rather than build new facilities.
The Durango Community Recreation Center is 71,557 square feet. In total, the city has 128,284 square feet of indoor recreation space that includes the ice rink and pavilion at Chapman Hill. Consultants found Durango, when compared with similar cities of Golden and Cortez, has the most square feet per capita of indoor recreation space for its size.
The national standard is about 2 square feet per resident; Durango has 6.2 square feet per resident, consultants said. Dozens of residents who attended a public meeting with consultants last year suggested the city’s indoor facilities “feel tapped out,” Neelay Bhatt, vice president and principal with Pros Consulting, told councilors Tuesday.
“On paper, you wouldn’t need it (more indoor recreation space) unless you go to the rec center and talk to community and staff,” Bhatt said. “Last year had over 400,000 visitors to the center. That’s incredible, you just don’t have the space to accommodate that.”
Consultants found that expanding the recreation center could cost $7 million. Constructing a new building could be a $45 million investment. About 42% of online respondents chose additional multi-use trails and Lake Nighthorse as either the city’s first-, second- or third-most important amenities. About 7% said a new recreation center should be a top priority.
The survey found almost half of Durango households “have unmet needs for lake recreation,” according to the report. Consultants found 3,516 of the 7,672 respondents said not enough boating or fishing opportunities exist.
By comparison, 1,104 households want access to an indoor, year-round ice rink, 1,012 didn’t feel they had enough space for indoor fitness and exercise facilities and 942 think investing in some kind of indoor turf facility could be worthwhile, according to survey results.
Mayor Melissa Youssef recognized that much of the community input for the plan came before Lake Nighthorse opened, and that may be the reason why people reported needing greater access to lake recreation.
But still, about half of respondents to the survey say hiking and running natural-surface trails are in their top four most-important amenities provided by Parks and Recreation. About 17% said the same for indoor fitness and exercise facilities.
“A lot of conversations have been around maintaining what we have; 10 years ago, we were focused on new land acquisition,” Parks and Recreation Advisory Board member Seth Furtney told city councilors after the consultants’ presentation. “Now, we’re looking to maintain.”
bhauff@durangoherald.com
Poll: Is the Durango Community Recreation Center large enough to accommodate the demand for its services?
Yes - 784 - 60.49%
No - 512 - 39.51%
