Hot Springs pours $20K into Glenwood Springs Whitewater Park
Glenwood Springs correspondent
Aspen, CO Colorado
ALL |
GLENWOOD SPRINGS ” Joe Mollica is stoked about a $20,000 donation from the Hot Springs Lodge and Pool for the second phase of construction at the Glenwood Springs Whitewater Park in West Glenwood on the Colorado River.
“That’s been in the works for a while now,” said Mollica, chairman of the whitewater park committee. “They pledged to make that donation for a while, about three years ago, so we’ve been looking forward to it.”
The donation was presented to the Two Rivers Community Foundation last week. The foundation, a local nonprofit that manages funding for community projects, is handling funding for what is about a $900,000 project thus far. Mollica and Glenwood’s community development director, Andrew McGregor, accepted the contribution from Hot Springs Lodge and Pool Chief Financial Officer John Bosco.
“When we were first approached with the prospect of a whitewater park, we stated that we were in support of the idea,” Bosco said. “Now with a lot of water under the bridge, so to speak, we are fulfilling this support, both conceptually and financially.”
The $20,000 will help meet costs of the project’s already-under-way second phase, which includes a parking lot south of Devereux Road, some parking spaces on the north side of Devereux Road, and restroom and changing facilities on the north side of the river, according to Mollica.
“The entire project is a prudent investment in recreation,” Bosco said. “It needs no additional staffing, no maintenance, no major ongoing operating expenses, it’s green after construction impacts and there’s no additional impact on the Two Rivers Park boating ramps.”
Construction has already begun on the parking lot south of Devereux Road, alleviating much of the congestion created by eager kayakers flocking to the new feature with this spring’s high runoff.
“It’s another push-pin on the map of fun things to do in Glenwood,” Bosco said. “This park will bring additional tourism dollars into our local economy, especially during spring and fall.”
Mollica ran down a list of other contributors to the project, some of which donated time as well as money: Blue Ridge Investments donated about 100,000 pounds of rock for construction of the feature; Heyl Construction donated time and work; Ed Walters, a local contractor, donated time and money for the construction of the parking lot; Garfield County donated $200,000; and Alpine Bank donated another $20,000 for phase two that will be dispersed in $5,000 increments over the next four years, Mollica said.
“We kind of pay as we go on the park,” Mollica said. “It’s taken a little time, but we didn’t want to go into debt with it.”
It’s all good with Bosco. He’s just happy to be able to help out any way he can for what he and the Hot Springs Pool believe is a very good thing for the city of Glenwood.
“As a tourism partner in Glenwood Springs, we felt an obligation to be a part of it,” Bosco said.
