A Glenwood Springs Community Center Ice Rink policy prohibiting speed skating during open skate times is being called into question as discriminatory.
Jesse Lafayette appeared before Glenwood City Council at its Nov. 5 regular meeting, presenting a petition calling for the end to the prohibition of speed skating during public ice time.
“Public recreation centers are funded by and built for the entire community,” Lafayette said, reading from the petition. “Policies must not be dictated by the personal bias or preferences of individual employees.”
Currently, a sign outlining the rules of use for the ice rink includes a recently added rule, “No speed skates allowed.”
Lafayette said there’s a small but growing group of speed skaters in the community, and that they hope to establish a club once there is enough interest. Ice time is critical, he said.
“Exposure to speed skating is critical during these public hours, along with all disciplines, when done in a safe and appropriate manner,” he said.
Mayor Marco Dehm called on Tim Bergman, the interim parks and recreation director for the city, to explain the situation and reason for the rule.
Bergman said it comes down to safety, and speed skating when other recreational skaters are on the ice is not safe.
Speed skaters are not being singled out, he said. There are also rules during open skate time prohibiting hockey pucks, and figure skaters must also stay in designated sections to help prevent collisions with other skaters, Bergman said.
If any specialized groups want to arrange for dedicated ice time, staff is happy to work with them, he said. But the facility is now booked out most days from about 5:30am until as late as 1am.
Lafayette called for a public hearing on the matter.
Water service agreement revised
An already approved plan to provide city water to a property outside of city limits in West Glenwood was back before council for some changes.
The site is where Mark Gould of Gould Construction is currently building a new self-storage facility. Council agreed in February of this year to extend a water line beyond city boundaries to service the Gould property, and eventually the Ami’s Acres property where a new residential development is being proposed through Garfield County’s land-use review process.
Now, Gould is planning to subdivide off a portion of his property for U-Haul to operate a separate mobile storage container business, necessitating a change in the water service agreement.
Council voted 5-2 to approve the revised agreement, but with the two council members who opposed the original agreement still in opposition.
Councilor Ray Schmahl called the process “ass-backwards,” and said the properties should go through the city’s new annexation procedures requiring a vote of the public.
“This is a precedent that I think is going to come back to bite us, and it’s an indication of things to come,” Schmahl said of possible future attempts to circumvent the annexation process through utility agreements. Councilor David Townsley joined Schmahl in voting against the revised agreement.
Public Works Director Matt Langhorst reminded council that a benefit for the city in extending that particular water line was to establish more fire hydrants along that stretch of Highway 6 and 24 as a protection against wildfires. The city will also receive revenues for the water sold to customers outside city limits.
Pressed on the issue by Schmahl, who said he felt voters were clear in their intent to limit annexations, City Attorney Karl Hanlon said the city could entertain a policy that would prevent the extension of water and other utilities outside city limits, without going through the annexation process.
Councilor Mitchell Weimer took it the other direction, and said it’s all the more reason to repeal Ballot Question 2A regarding annexations. “This is one of the unintended consequences that we warned about,” he said.
In other news …
All council members were present for the first regular meeting of November, during which the annual audit was presented, giving the city a clean bill of financial health. Council also formally approved a $116 million 2027 city budget. The budget includes a $32.8 million general fund, with $10.6 million in reserves for general operations.
Council unanimously approved a resolution supporting the Colorado Association of Ski Towns 2027 legislative priorities, and likewise unanimously approved Xcel Energy’s plan to rebuild an electric transmission line that runs through the city along the Midland Avenue corridor.