City of GJ Parks & Rec - Full Circle Podcast with The Christi Reece Group

Christi Reece sits down with Emily Krause, Superintendent for Parks & Rec, and Nicole Reeves, Manager of the Community Rec Center, for an in-depth look at the various summer programs for all ages, an update on the new $100 million Community Rec Center and what guests can expect, as well as the other various recreational programs and opportunities that are available to the community! 

The Full Circle Podcast - compelling interviews and incredible tales from Colorado's Western Slope. If you prefer watching your podcasts, head over to our YouTube page, christireecegroup, to watch this and all of our other episodes! 

The Christi Reece Group provides ReFreshing Real Estate services in Grand Junction, Fruita, Palisade and surrounding areas of Mesa County. Contact us at marketing@christireece.com, 970-589-7700, or visit us at our offices at 1601 Riverfront Dr, Suite 103 in Grand Junction, CO.

Transcript

Christi 0:05

The Full Circle podcast. Compelling interviews and incredible tales from Colorado's Western Slope, from the mountains to the desert. Christy Reese and her team hear from the movers, shakers, and characters of the Grand Valley and surrounding mountain towns that make the Western Slope the place we all love. You'll learn, you'll laugh, you'll love with the full circle. Hi everybody, I'm Christy Reese. Welcome back to the Full Circle Podcast. Today we are really excited to talk about Grand Junction Parks and Recreation and all the great things that they have going on. So with me today, I have the Parks and Recreation Superintendent, Emily Krause, and also the Community Recreation Center manager, our new rec center, Nicole Reeves. Thank you, ladies, for being here. Thanks for having us. You all put on so many programs, and I'm sure maybe one of you could hold up the guide to the camera. I'm sure many of you listening and watching have gotten this in the mail. A chock full of activities for kids and adults and all kinds of different things, exercise and art and just great things. So, Emily, could you talk a little bit about camp registration, which opened up in March actually? What's new this summer? What should parents, adults, kids know about? And what about your partnerships between D-51 and CMU?

SPEAKER_00 1:24

Sure, that's a good one. That's a long question. That's a good one. No, we'll bite into it. So our summer camp program is multifaceted. We have licensed childcare camps that we run through the city of Grand Junction. They're for all ages, kind of starting at that five to six. So that's our little sunshines camp. So five to six-year-olds, we have those at a couple different sites in town. And that's really geared towards that age. They still get to do the fun field trips and activities and all those things, but it's really specifically designed for those five and six-year-olds. Then we have camps that are really that seven to twelve, seven to eleven. That's our stars camp, our scores camp. They're really active. They do a lot of walking, a lot of weird. They we wear them out. The best compliment we can get is when the parents are like, My child fell asleep on the way home. You're like, Yes, you're welcome.

Christi 2:12

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Yeah. And then we have our tween camps. So that's really for those kind of teenagers that you don't want to leave at home, but they need something active to do this summer that they can participate in those. So all of those camps, we do post kind of the camp registration information in February. Registration opens in March, like you talked about, and they do fill up really fast. So if you're listening to this or watching this and you have a kiddo that needs camp care this summer, definitely give our office a call immediately. We'll kind of walk you through the steps, let you know what camps are still available, all the paperwork that's required because it is licensed with the state of Colorado. There is some of those requirements, and then sort out your needs. There are other camp options that are not full day. So all of those that we just talked about are full day camp. Okay, maybe that's not what you're looking for.

Christi 2:57

And they started already, like, or school just got out. So they when do they start week? Next week, okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Yep, next week is our first, and we do all the weeks of summer until the kids go back this fall. But if you're not looking for full-time care, those camps are like 7:30 to 5:30, so they can be all day. So if that's not your niche, we do have a variety of other kind of special interest camps. Maybe it's the survival camp and it's just in the morning. You're learning your survival skills, how to make a fire, how to do all those kind of things. That's a fun niche. There's a lot of those types of camps that aren't full day licensed.

Christi 3:26

But do they have a camp for tying knots? Because that's something they want to learn how to do, tie all those knots.

SPEAKER_00 3:32

Right. So I think there's a lot of different options, and really your best bet is to give our office a call, 970-254-3866, or stop by our office in Lincoln Park, and we'll really be able to figure out your age of your child, the needs they might have, and then what's that best fit?

Christi 3:49

Office in Lincoln Park is where in what building?

SPEAKER_00 3:51

Yeah, so it's a little stone building right behind the diving boards of the Lincoln Park pool.

Christi 3:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Real busy. It's hard to get to sometimes, especially with JUCO starting this weekend. But give us a call or swing on by.

Christi 4:02

Yeah. Are there any new programs that you're really excited about? A new offering that's exciting to you?

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Well, I will say one thing with this camp piece is our partnership with Colorado Macy University and using one of their venues. So our Tween Camp is going to be located on site at CMU this year, which will be a neat mix for them to be able to be on campus and kind of experience that. They do a lot of field trips, so they're off-site a lot, but that's a neat partnership. The other facilities are all school district facilities, so we work with the school district to use their facilities in the summer. We always kind of bounce around. School district is doing a lot of construction this summer. They are, yes. Yes. So we're really kind of dependent on that. And so those facilities do change from summer to summer, but that partnership is is really neat.

Christi 4:47

And um are there any I'm sorry to say that I haven't scoured the program guide, but are there any programs down here at the butterfly pond in Las Colonias?

SPEAKER_00 4:57

Sure, yeah, the camps actually do come down here, the twin camp a lot, to do the paddle boarding in the butterfly pond right behind us. Um, and so that's always a really popular day, especially when it's really hot in July.

Christi 5:07

Yes, it's been really fun this last week seeing all the kids out here for the end-of-school stuff and all the the fire trucks and just shooting the water and everything as well.

SPEAKER_00 5:15

Yep, water days was just down here, yes, yes.

Christi 5:17

Um from a community standpoint, um, what does it mean to have this kind of programming spread across four District 51 school sites and the CNU campus, and how does that change access for families across the valley?

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Yeah, good question. So, if you really think about it, there's thousands of kids in our district, and what do they all do during the summer? So, this is that kind of avenue to provide care. We are not the only ones, eureka is another good example. These kind of summer camp cares, so the kids can kind of keep that structure throughout the summer. Um, some kids really thrive on that, and that's important, but um providing that kind of outlet for working parents so that they can have their child in a safe environment has really been helpful. We do try to spread them out so you can, if transportation is an issue, that you can find a site or a camp location that's easy to access from your home and really try to meet that need for our community during those summer.

Christi 6:09

That's wonderful. Um and you I'm assuming that you don't have any like bus pickup or anything like that. Parents need to be able to get their kids to these locations. They do. That is, but it's nice that they're across the valley, so that is correct. So something near.

SPEAKER_00 6:23

Yeah, and we do also provide weekly calendars. So the Thursday before every week of camp, the parents get a calendar that says every day what we're doing, and we do rely on the parents to help with these field trips, so they will drop off maybe not at Chapita Elementary every morning, but they might drop off out at Canyon View Park one day. And the kids will go to the dollar movie, do some games at the park, and that's kind of how they get that field trip location and transportation because we don't transport kids, we don't have the bus. Yeah. So yeah. Wow.

Christi 6:51

Let's talk to Nicole a little bit about our new recreation center. How exciting.

SPEAKER_02 6:56

We are so excited for it.

Christi 6:57

Coming right up. What is the current estimate on opening?

SPEAKER_02 7:00

So we're still sometime later this year. We don't have an exact date narrowed down, um, but it it will be you know fall to late 2026, so we're very confident in getting it open this year.

Christi 7:12

So um let's talk about uh where you are in the construction and what still needs to be finished.

SPEAKER_02 7:19

Absolutely. So construction is going along great. We are so thankful for FCI and all the work they're putting into it. They've been wonderful to work with. Um, we have some really exciting things that have happened recently. They painted our gym floor so all the courts are laid out and it looks amazing. It's still all shiny and new and everything. Um, they've finished a lot of the flooring throughout the facility. Um, they still need to work on the upstairs fitness area floor, so they're gonna put in that nice rubber athletic flooring up there. Um, most of the lighting throughout the facility is installed, there's paint on the walls. Um, we're we're really coming along well. Lockers, I think, arrived last week. So there's a lot of really great things still to come. Um we are working on getting the turf field installed. That was an additional funding source that was able to provide us with that large soccer in lacrosse turf field.

Christi 8:12

That's wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

So those guys are on site right now working on getting that going. And then the big area that still has a lot of work is in the pools. They've come along great. We have the slides in, one of the climbing walls over the pools, it's fully installed, but the actual pools themselves are still working on getting their final liners installed and everything in order to fill them and get them ready to go.

Christi 8:34

Remind me about the pools. All indoor, or is there an outdoor pool as well?

SPEAKER_02 8:37

We do have all indoor pools. So we have five bodies of water in there, five separate pools, which is really exciting. It just offers a lot of opportunities, different temperature pools, different activities in each of them. Um, so there's something that will be suitable for everyone. Um, but they are all indoors. We do have a space outdoors for when we acquire funding in the future that we can do. Future plans, great. Yes, glad to hear it. Um, all the underground work, all the piping is done to add an outdoor hot tub sometime in the future.

Christi 9:08

Awesome. So um we got to take a tour of the facility as a team, which was really wonderful. Um, gosh, must have been last fall, I think. That's last spring, yeah. And um, for those people that haven't had a chance to do a community tour, can you just kind of describe you you went through some of the things that they're gonna that you're working on, but kind of give people a general picture of the activities that will be included in the rec center for the those that haven't been there yet?

SPEAKER_02 9:36

Absolutely. So this facility is huge, 107,000 square feet indoors. Um to put that in perspective, I know it's our first recreation center in Grand Junction, but even a lot of the metro area rec centers in Colorado are not as large as this one. So we are really getting top of the line recreation center here. So when you um come into the facility, there's a couple different areas to go. Um, you'll be greeted by our awesome front desk staff at a beautiful front desk. Then we have our community wing of the facility that's kind of what we would consider our free space. Um, we have our therapy partner, Intermountain Health Therapy Clinic, will be there. That's super exciting. I think that's a great partnership. Very exciting. Um, we have our community lounge, which will just have a TV, a fireplace, a pool table, some seating that people can come in and have coffee together, um, play games, anything like that in a free space in the facility. And then also in our community wing, we have our community rooms that are available for events and parties, meetings, rentals. Um, it can be three separate rooms, two rooms combined, one large room, and it is adjacent to our outdoor event space. Um you have the Berkey Pavilion, thanks to the Berkey land sale from the Berkey family that is adjacent to those rooms so that it creates a nice indoor-outdoor event space.

Christi 11:00

That is so nice. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:02

And then in the rest of the facility are our paid parts, so to speak. So, in order to go in these areas, you would need a membership or to purchase a day pass or some kind of entry fee. Um, we have three gymnasium courts, so each of those courts can be basketball, volleyball, pickleball. We have three group fitness rooms that we plan on offering a ton of different fitness classes from yoga to spin to HIT training, Zumba, all sorts of different things for everyone. Um, we have a 33-foot climbing wall, which is really exciting.

Christi 11:37

This is uh besides the one that's over the pool. Correct.

SPEAKER_02 11:40

This is a dry land climbing wall. Dryland climbing wall. We have on on that there is bouldering, there's your kind of standard panelized climbing wall, and there's a rock realistic portion that's to look like independence, um, independence monuments. Cool. That is gonna be really awesome.

Christi 11:58

How fun to like personalize it to our community like that. Absolutely great.

SPEAKER_02 12:02

Yeah, our our design team and our city team did a really nice job in the in the design aspects to make sure that we are keeping it local and those types of things and relatable for our community.

Christi 12:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Um, we also have upstairs in the facility, we have our fitness area. This is where our cardio machines, treadmills, circuit machines, stretching, weights, all of that will be located, and an indoor walking track. So when the weather's not so nice and we need to come inside, it's a great place to come out.

Christi 12:32

That's wonderful. Yeah, we need that. Um, so let's talk about memberships and how do people get in on uh a membership and when does that when do those go on sale?

SPEAKER_02 12:44

Absolutely. So all of our memberships, again, we talked about having the activity guide. So if you did not receive one of those in the mail, um definitely check out our website. It has all of our different membership options, but those will go on sale starting here in a couple weeks on June 8th.

Christi 12:59

June 8th, everybody, okay.

SPEAKER_02 13:01

So our team is going to be in a office trailer in the parking lot of the recreation center. So you're gonna be able to get closer to the building than you've been able to since construction started and come and visit us in order to have that pre-sale of a membership. Now we have very exciting that the first 500 memberships sold are gonna receive a special gift.

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 13:25

Um, I don't want to share too much on what it is, but it will have the words founding member on the gift. So it's very special that you will be one of the founding members of the CRC.

Christi 13:38

That's great. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:39

Um, really important on that because we will be in the parking lot of the construction site. I just want to share, we will have signage posted on where to go, where to park, um, and just for everyone's safety to be sure if you come visit us, which we hope you do, just follow those signs to make sure that you stay in the areas that that we are supposed to be in.

Christi 13:57

So to be clear, this is not an online purchase. You have to go to the rec center parking lot to get your membership.

SPEAKER_02 14:04

Yep, memberships will be in person only. Um, you can visit the Lincoln Park office as well to get that membership, but the promotion for the first 500 members will be in the parking lot at the Rec Center only.

Christi 14:16

Okay, on June June 8th. 8th. Yep. Okay, starting at what time?

SPEAKER_02 14:21

9 a.m. We will be out there from 9 to 4 every day with an hour lunch for break from noon to 1.

Christi 14:28

Do you have your um fees set already? Can you talk about how much it will cost for people to become members?

SPEAKER_02 14:34

Yeah, we do. So um with our membership fees, I'm gonna pull them up in here because I do not have them all memorized. I apologize. Um, but we do have various rates for different age groups and residency status. So city residents do receive a little bit of a discounted rate as they are the ones who passed our tax in order to build this facility. Um, so an adult resident is gonna be $42 a month, and an adult non-resident of the city would be $57 a month. We have options to pay that monthly, pay a full year in advance, um, various various ways to accept payment on that. We also have family passes. So, you know, if you are a family of four, you don't have to buy an individual membership for everyone. You do receive a pretty good good discount. Um, so there's ways to make it make it very affordable for every family and household.

Christi 15:29

Wonderful. Want to talk about a little bit about um how many people you're gonna be employing with this facility and what a great job creator it is going to be and and is now. I mean, you have been hiring already, right? Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_02 15:44

So we've been we've been hiring a lot. Um we anticipate employing well over 150 people in this facility. Um, so we're excited about the number of jobs that it is creating in our community. Some of those are full-time, some are part-time, some are seasonal. Um, and we're really excited that we're gonna hire a completely multi-generational workforce. So we'll have people who are 15 working for us, as well as um our retired friends who are looking for just something fun to do every now and then.

Christi 16:14

So and lots of fitness instructors and people that will just be teaching some classes and things like that.

SPEAKER_02 16:20

Absolutely. Yep, we'll have a wide variety. We have about 12 different position titles of those part-time staffs and fitness instructors, lifeguards, guest services, um, our climbing wall staff. There's a whole variety of people with different skill sets and backgrounds that we're bringing on. It's also really exciting. I I know we're talking about our jobs, but what this facility has done with jobs in the community, that um FCI building the site, I think it's something like 80% of their subcontractors is are local. Yeah, so really creating a lot of opportunity um in the valley for for jobs and keeping money local.

Christi 17:00

And Emily, you employ a lot of people in the recreation department as well. How many people do you have on staff during the summer?

SPEAKER_00 17:09

Yeah, so specifically for the summer, we employ in like an additional 150. You're talking lifeguards, your summer camp staff, you know, your softball workers. So we really look as one of the largest kind of that younger generation kind of summer work. And it's something we really pride ourselves, is to be the first-time job for a lot of kids. Yeah and to watch them then grow and become our pool managers or our head lifeguards and progress and stick with us season after season. Um, we were talking about some of those, and we have about a 50% kind of return rate, which is really high for these kids that you know don't know what they're doing next year. So we really pride ourselves on kind of being that large employer for that age group.

Christi 17:50

Are there any categories where you're still lacking some people for the summer or for the that you want to tout? Like, hey, we need some more people that do this kind of thing to come in and apply.

SPEAKER_00 18:01

I think one area that we already might not know that we also under our Perks and Rec umbrella is we run a child care facility that's over by Sam's Club, and that child care facility is a great way if you have someone or at CMU if you were taking classes in that early childhood development area. We're always kind of looking for those teacher aids, and we also have full-time positions that then they work into, and that's so that's always one that's kind of a year-round thing. I think also the community recreation center will ultimately be a kind of year-round hiring moment, just as we have we have 150 people. You're always gonna have a little turnover and always kind of a rehire, so all of those jobs would be kind of continual. But at the moment, for all of our recreation summer staff, we're pretty full and looking really good because we do start the pools open tomorrow and it's we're kicking off. So yeah, yeah, wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 18:49

And at the recreation center, we've we've been doing really well on hiring so far. We've had multiple hiring events and talked to so many amazing people who have applied. Um, but the areas and jobs that I think we're still looking for more are our fitness instructors. So, as you mentioned, you know, if you want to teach classes, if you're certified to teach classes, those are great. Um, and then we will probably still need more lifeguards. Like I said, with five pools, we do need a lot of a lot of bodies to make sure those pools are staying safe.

Christi 19:18

And if somebody is interested in becoming certified to teach classes, is that something you can connect them with a certification program?

SPEAKER_02 19:27

Yeah, so we don't provide the certification for any of them, but we are fitness coordinator, um Liz, she's wonderful, and she has a lot of connections to where to find the certifications and and how to, so they're more than welcome to reach out to us and we'll send them in the right direction. Okay, wonderful.

Christi 19:42

Um, so the project, the the Recreation Center, grew from 83,000 square feet to 107,000, as you mentioned, really big, um thanks in part to some grants that came through. Um, also donations and partnerships, including Intermountain Health sponsoring the St. Mary's Pools. Um, what does it say about our community that the Rec Center expanded the way that it did? And what does it mean to have partners who view it as an engine for long-term health? I think that's really important. Just kind of like our trail system, too. We finally realize like that's that's health for our community.

SPEAKER_02 20:17

Absolutely. So, first and foremost, we are so thankful and appreciative for all of our sponsors, our donors, our grantors, every everyone who contributed to make this happen, not only the initial the initial size of the facility, but the growth of it, adding the outdoor amenities. So none of it could happen without without those amazing partnerships that we have. But um, yeah, the growth of the facility is really, you know, we were able to add more pools, more square footage, an extra community room. That growth really means opportunity. It means more jobs that we're offering, it means more programs for for people visiting the facility. It just means more people are going to be able to find their place and what they're looking for within the CRC. So we're we're really excited about that. With that, too, you talk about what it means with health for the community, the trail systems. We obviously live in a community that does thrive on healthy lifestyles with all of the different things to do, to do here. And I think what's cool about the Rec Center is we're going to be able to not only promote that physical health that people think about, but a lot of mental health and social health that comes out of having a community space to come into.

Christi 21:27

Definitely. There are a lot of studies out now that say how important the social aspect of your life is and in your overall well-being. It's really important. Um, and and I'm so excited about the the land that's still available around the rec center and the future things that can and will happen. I mean, the possibilities are endless, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:49

Absolutely.

Christi 21:50

Just really excited to see what gets added to the mix over there.

SPEAKER_00 21:53

Well, and I think if anyone has been to Canyon View Park on a Saturday, they know how desperately we need some additional fields. An additional kind of a gathering space outdoors and we're hoping that Match Up Park becomes that our future there and that expansion uh location. So we're really excited to see how that evolves.

SPEAKER_01 22:12

Yeah.

Christi 22:12

I play tennis and the tennis courts uh out at Canyon View are so great. And there's days when you show up and you're like, you cannot park anywhere near the tennis courts because all the field sports that yeah that's so popular. It's great.

unknown 22:25

Yep.

Christi 22:26

Um okay, Emily, back to you. Yeah. What are some of the other things that the um uh rec department is doing, like Food Truck Fridays and some of the other fun programs?

SPEAKER_00 22:36

We have a lot of fun stuff happening this summer. So Food Truck Fridays is a good example that kind of rotates around the community, and we do host some of those there at Lincoln Park. Um the Fourth of July fireworks in Lincoln Park are always popular, always fun. And I always want to point out that Eagle Rim Park is a great place to watch those. It's kind of this hidden gem. So right across the way you can park down here and walk across the bridge. That's a great way to do it. It's a great way just to kind of spread out the love of all the people who come to Lincoln Park, um, is that you really can see them from all over. So we have a variety of landscaping and garden classes that are popping up. I mean, the summer is the is the we have a lot happening. Come down to the Lincoln Park Pool or continue to visit the Orchard Mesa pool, or even we manage the Palisade Pool and the operations there. So come get wet and enjoy that. The splash park, right down the bike park here, or right down the trails. Yep, that is open now and has been operating for a few weeks and always popular. That's really looking good down there. I love seeing that activated. Yeah, it's really coming together. So there's just a lot of those pieces, and one thing to kind of think about is you're maybe having a gathering or an event or your neighborhood is getting together, is we have our neighborhood block party trailer.

Christi 23:46

I've heard about the neighborhood block party trailer.

SPEAKER_00 23:48

Yeah, that's so great. We actually it was so popular, we added a second one last year.

Christi 23:52

Oh, good.

SPEAKER_00 23:53

So for $50, we will deliver this block party trailer to your doorstep wherever you would like it within your neighborhood. You do have to be within the city limits. Um, we'll drop it off. It has tables, it has chairs, it has yard games, trash cans, cones, street closures, it has everything for you to put on an event within your neighborhood and just kind of another way to kind of include that community and help people gather.

Christi 24:16

I don't live in the city anymore, but when I I used to live downtown and we had block parties down there, and it was such a fun thing. Everybody contributed. Um, it wasn't a big effort on one person bring food and drinks and let the kids play in the street, block it all off. So fun. So fun.

SPEAKER_00 24:33

So yeah, we just really want to look at kind of the community as a holistic way and how our department and parks and recreation can provide those spaces or amenities or programs to help our community gather and enjoy themselves.

Christi 24:45

At a reasonable cost. Yes, too. Yeah, I think that's really important to add is that none of these programs are super expensive. No.

SPEAKER_00 24:51

We really try to keep things affordable so that they're accessible for all and just you know, want to provide that.

Christi 24:58

So Food Truck Fridays, I know, is really popular. We have so many good food trucks in our community. Um, where do people find the schedule?

SPEAKER_00 25:06

Oh, yeah, good. If they don't if they don't have the book. Yes, if you don't have the book, you can definitely hop online. For example, I do know our two dates. So we are July 10th and August 7th in Lincoln Park for Food Truck Fridays, but you can hop online, Food Truck Friday um Grand Junction, and it all the dates are there for all because it does travel all over the valley.

Christi 25:26

Um couple things I'm curious about just for my own uh knowledge. What is the current status of the use of the track uh at Lincoln Park and what hours? Can people go and walk or run on the track?

SPEAKER_00 25:40

They can, yes. Lincoln Park track is available to the community to hop in. Um it's unlocked really early in the morning. I don't know the exact hours, but it's very early and then locked up in the evening. You just have to be aware if there's a football game or an event happening, then it's hard to hop on there. But it is open at any of those other times for people to walk. They also enjoy the stairs and using the stairs of the bleachers for exercise. So, yes, or the field. Any of those spaces are available as long as there's not an event happening. You don't have to make a reservation for the field.

Christi 26:09

If it's open, you can go. Absolutely. Yep, it's a community asset. Yes, correct. Um, ladies, as we wrap up, um what do you think it says about our community? Uh all the things that we are are that you are offering and all the things that our residents can take advantage of. And uh we talked a little bit about the mental health aspect of being social. A lot of these are social events, but just talk a little bit about um how you see it fitting into our community and the benefit that it has.

SPEAKER_00 26:40

Yeah, I think that's one of our roles. It's our role as a city government entity, but it's our role in parks and recreation to provide not only the facilities, the amenities, the locations, the parks, um, even the neighborhood parks for people to get outside and um and be a part of something. Whatever that part of something is, if it's a fitness class or if you're attending one of our special events or visiting Canning View and participating in a league, it's our job to provide that ability for the community to gather. And that gathering helps going back to that mental health, or it just helps kind of making people feel not so lonely, that they can be a part of something at whatever their interest or their level is. That's our role, and our role is to provide that at an affordable or free cost so that all can be included and all could be a part of something. So we really have made a big push. Our activity guide actually went out to every single city resident this year to really make sure that it's the information is available and it's at people's fingertips, and we encourage anyone that just might not know where they fit in to call us and we'll talk them through their interest, see where they could join. There really is something for everyone. We really try hard to make that.

SPEAKER_02 27:46

Yeah. And I so I'm newer to Grand Junction. I've only been here a little over a year now. From where? Um I moved from the front range, but I mean I'm a Colorado native my my life here. But um, yeah, I'm loving the Western Slope in Grand Junction. But I really I I think Emily's exactly right. That's the role in parks and recreation, and everywhere offers that. But I think what we do special here is that we really dive into that there's something for everyone. There's so many outdoor um activities and opportunities tying into our park system. Are, you know, we are parks and recreation, and our park systems are incredible here. Um our horticulture team and the landscaping they do around town that people just enjoy everywhere they go. All of it, all of it really plays into what is making people happy here. Um so the activities and and just connection.

Christi 28:37

I know from a real estate perspective, of course, you know, we really uh speak highly of those properties that are within walking distance to some of our beautiful parks, and that's such a um a selling feature. Uh that's that we have parks close by, so many neighborhoods. Yeah, it's wonderful. Uh, does parks and recreation also handle the amphitheater?

SPEAKER_00 28:56

We handle all of the riverfront park system. The amphitheater operations is handled by a private vendor, but we handle the space and the landscaping and the maintenance and all the upkeep of this beautiful river corridor.

Christi 29:10

From a personal perspective, I would say that is just one of my favorite things about Grand Junction. I love all the great music that's coming to town, and it's such a wonderful venue for our listeners and watchers. If you haven't seen a show at Las Colonias Amphitheater, you've got to go this summer and see somebody. It is a wonderful outdoor space. And then, of course, I just want to say another thanks for the tennis courts. They're getting refinished, and um I starting today. Yes. Yes, and my son and I were uh we we played together last summer and we w had to go up to Denver. We took our rackets, and trying to find a place, a public court where we could just walk on in Denver was super challenging. We drove around for about an hour and a half. We had mapped out and we looked at all these places, and they were in horrible disrepair, most of them, that we could get on. You kind of have to be a member of a club there. So I feel really lucky as part of this tennis community that um parks and recs take the the paddle and racket sport communities really seriously here. Absolutely. I've heard I don't play paddle ball, but I've heard the paddleball pickle pickleball, excuse me. Yeah, yeah. Now paddle is the next one, right? When are we gonna get some paddle cards? I do not know. Put that on your list. I'll add it to the list. Um if people have an activity or something that they that they like and they want to suggest, is there a way they can should they just come down to your office and reach out, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 30:33

You know, there's a lot of maybe smaller interest group rugby is actually making a good return in Grand Junction. And so we're open to all, and we really want to make everyone be able to find their home and their space. We've made a lot of improvements to Columbine Park, for example, recently, and rugby has kind of found that as their new home. So adult rugby, youth rugby, if anyone is interested in there. You know, so really finding that that location and working with us because we want all of those, all of those sports, all of those user groups to find that that home for them. Wonderful.

unknown 31:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:04

Anything else you want to add, ladies, about your wonderful programs or we are just so thankful for you having us today and um being able to showcase what all we have going on and and love um hearing about how you how you utilize our amenities and and everything we offer.

Christi 31:21

When especially when we're talking to people from out of the area, it's just a uh a crown jewel on our community to have all these wonderful parks and all these wonderful programs. So thanks for all your hard work. Yeah, thank you so much for having us. All right, so you've uh got information about how you can um get more information about programs. Um also you there are volunteer opportunities, yes, I'm assuming.

SPEAKER_00 31:44

Yep, we have trail host programs, a lot of different volunteer opportunities. Yes.

Christi 31:47

Okay, so if you're looking to get involved in the community on a volunteer aspect, um opportunities available there. And don't forget June 8th is the membership, founders membership uh day for uh the Rec Center over in the parking lot. So um, Emily and Nicole, thank you so much for joining us. And again, good job on all the good work that Parks and Recs is doing. Thanks, thank you for having us. All right, this is Christy Reese signing off. We'll see you next time on the Full Circle Podcast. Bye. Thanks for listening. This is Christy Reese signing out from the Full Circle Podcast.