A public hearing to establish a special park and recreation district in Rio Grande County, which if approved by voters would develop a multi-use indoor aquatics center, drew around 150 people to the Ski Hi Complex on Monday evening, April 21.
San Luis Valley Aquatics, a 501c3 nonprofit, is making the proposal and laid out its plans for financing and operating the proposed 23,000 square-foot aquatics center that would be located in Monte Vista. The nonprofit’s argument for the evening was that SLV Aquatics had met each of the requirements under Colorado statutes to create a special park and recreation district for the county and now registered voters should decide the outcome.
To accommodate the sizable crowd, county residents were given one minute of time to make their thoughts known to the commissioners. Rio Grande County has an estimated population of 11,000 and sees around 63 percent turnout of its 8,000 active voters during elections.
The county also has been experiencing a downtrend in population, while Alamosa County to the south and Saguache County to the north have seen population growth, according to state demographics. SLV Aquatics is pitching the indoor swimming center as one that can have a stabilizing effect and help sustain the local county’s economy.
The overall cost of the proposed $24 million aquatics center and burden to residential and commercial property owners through a dedicated mill levy carried the evening of public comments.
The decision for the 3-member Board of Rio Grande County Commissioners following the lengthy public hearing is whether the SLV Aquatics plan should go before voters in November. The commissioners will make that determination at their regularly scheduled meeting on May 7, said Rio Grande Administrator Skip Schoen.
