PALISADE, Colo. ” The town of Palisade has dropped its plan to build a whitewater park on the Colorado River.

The U.S. Corps of Engineers had requested more information about the plan from the town.

“We said couldn’t do any more. We didn’t feel it was necessary or financially responsible to do more,” said Tim Sarmo, town administrator.

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To date, Palisade has paid some $125,000 on plans and engineering work as it studied two different sites for a potential kayak park on the river.

The town had raised nearly $1 million in donations and grants to build the park.

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Sarmo said this week the town will ask two state agencies to “deauthorize” the money, freeing the funds for use on other projects that will move forward.

For almost three years, the town has negotiated with the federal Corps of Engineers for permission to place boulders in the river to create whitewater features for kayakers.

Initially, the town wanted to build the park upstream, at the Price-Stubb diversion dam. Later, it contemplated a whitewater park in a stretch of the river near the town-owned Riverbend Park. Palisade is in western Colorado, just east of Grand Junction.

mvader@gjfreepress.com