RMA Poudre Rock Report

Poudre River Plan City Council Work Session Tuesday Oct 8 @6pm (Tonight)

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This Tuesday is the next step in the process of getting a whitewater park put in. The City Council will be holding a work session covering the plans for the Poudre River Project. This session does not allow input from the public, but you can show up to show support and listen to the discussion amongst the council members.

Details:
Time/Date: Tuesday (October 8) at 6pm
Location: City Hall, 300 LaPorte Ave.

Alternatively, if you have Comcast, you can watch the proceedings from the comfort of you home on channel 14 at 6pm.

Whatever you choose to do, please let your council member know your thoughts.

This work session will be covering 2 main topics. First will have Dr. Tony Frank from CSU talking for 1 hour (not Poudre River related). The second item (again 1 hour in length) will be the Poudre River Plan
and Projects led by John Stokes.

More information is available from the City’s web page:

http://www.fcgov.com/cityclerk/agendas.php

The agenda for Tuesday’s meeting is here:

http://citydocs.fcgov.com/?cmd=show_related&vid=72&dt=SUMMARY+AGENDA&rid=October%208,%202013

Note, if you would like to see the video presentation of the September meeting with SO2’s park presentation, you can view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wrh3fDyBaW0

Whitewater Park & River Projects Open house TONIGHT!

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Just a reminder to all, that the open house is TONIGHT!

Please attend and get any non boater you know and who is interested in this project to attend as well. This open house will be very important to show the city the interest in the project from the community as a whole. The first hour (5-6) is devoted purely to the park.

Meeting info below:
Thursday September 5th (TONIGHT!!)
5:00 – 6:00 p.m. – White water park open house (Come see S02’s design, ask questions, lend support!)
6:00 – 8;00 p.m. – Discussion of other parts of the Poudre River Project

Lincoln Center
417 W Magnolia St
Fort Collins, CO 80521

For more details on topics visit here:
http://www.fcgov.com/riverprojects/

If you cannot attend, please let your city council member know, info below;
poudrewhitewaterpark.com/?page_id=13

Whitewater Park & River Projects Open house THIS Thursday!

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Reminder that this week is the most important show of support you can give
for the Poudre Whitewater Park. Packing this room full of boaters and
non-boaters showing support for this venture is crucial to the success of
the project.

This isn’t some boring meeting either, we will actually get a glimpse of
what the park will look like. Unlike the last get together at the Lincoln
Center, 5:00 to 6:00 is devoted to the whitewater park.

Thursday September 5th
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Lincoln Center
417 W Magnolia St
Fort Collins, CO 80521

6-8pm there will be talk of the other Poudre RiverProjects.
For more details on topics visit here:

http://www.fcgov.com/riverprojects/

Community Forum on the Whitewater Recreation Area

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playpark_city-council-work-session
On October 8th, there’s a City Council work session dedicated to the river related initiatives

After 15 years of pursuing a whitewater recreation area in downtown Fort Collins, we are now closer than ever to that possibility.

John Stokes of the city is working very diligently with the engineers and designers to determine feasibility.  He believes there are several opportunities in various locations.

There’s another public forum on September 5th to discuss the projects in the downtown river corridor, time and location TBD.

On October 8th, there’s a City Council work session dedicated to the river related initiatives.  The Whitewater Recreation Area needs to formally be part of this plan at this point for it to have a strong possibility of implementation.  The Fort Collins City Staff is in control of this recommendation.

Please email Zoe Whyman, the community relations manager, ZWHYMAN@fcgov.com with any questions or professional letters of support you feel comfortable writing.  You can also contact your city council representative at this time to share with them why you think it’s important to the community.  This will be key especially prior to the meeting on October 8th.  A list of all council members is available from the following link: http://www.fcgov.com/cityleadership/, or send an email to: cityleaders@fcgov.com if you wish to address all city council members and the city manager. We need to be clear in any correspondence that we want a true whitewater park, with real features like holes and waves to surf.  We do not want a float park, as this will not be nearly as beneficial our community.

Also, we will start a drive soon, to raise money/pledges for helping fund this project.  If you would like to be part of this group who will be actively working on this, please email diana@trebuchetgroup.com

Please Join the Facebook page Poudre Play Park (https://www.facebook.com/groups/479688972116848/), if you haven’t already and get your friends, co-workers, family members to join as well.

**This may go without saying, but since this is such an emotional issue for many people, we’ll reiterate.  Please keep in mind with all correspondence that it is imperative that we maintain the highest possible degree of professionalism and treat all members of the city with the highest level of respect.  By respecting them, they will likely in turn respect our perspective.**

Event Reminder – City Open House at The Lincoln Center from 4-7pm TODAY!

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Please stop by and be vocal about your support of a true whitewater recreation area in downtown Fort Collins today from 4-7 at The City Open House at The Lincoln Center.

You can stop by anytime. You’ll be walking into a room with 20-25 booths. All booths will be staffed by city employees who are there to tell you more about the projects listed at their booths. From the city’s point of view, the purpose of the open house is to educated and get feedback from the community on all of the projects related to the Poudre River. There will be a play area for kids and a cash bar for adults.

From the community stakeholder’s point of view the purpose to learn about and give feedback on the projects, so it’s a perfect forum to come and ask about why whitewater recreation/ a whitewater park isn’t currently a part of the presentation.

Currently, the recreation plan that’s in place is considering some in stream and out of stream improvements, but related to whitewater recreation the city is only formally considering a float park. The city has agreed to do a feasibility study on a whitewater park and wants to find out if there is much interest in this from the community. So, today is a big day to show community support. Keep in mind a true whitewater park/recreations area is not just limited to kayaking, but also will draw biking, walking, running, sitting, tubing, fishing, surfing, river boarding and swimming. All of which will help build a stronger sense of community through outdoors and recreation.

The section of the Poudre River downstream from College Ave would be an ideal location for a whitewater park, both for bringing in tourism from recreation and enjoyment by local residents. Other Colorado cities such as Lyons, Golden, Vail, Glenwood, and Steamboat have experience a dramatic increase in people watching and using their rivers after implementing whitewater parks. A true whitewater park in Fort Collins will bring money to local business and revitalize this area of downtown.

This probably goes without saying, but need to be very respectful and professional in our approach today. Today is an opportunity for us to take a step toward partnership with the city and get this project moving in the right direction. Each voice counts, so come even if you only have a few minutes. The key now is the city is going to complete a plan this fall that will include modifying the coy ditch (right downstream of college) and the rocks below, if this isn’t part of this plan formally at this time, then it’s unlikely that this will ever happen. This is a perfect time to create a whitewater park and we can make this happen if we unite and let the city know how much we want/need this.

You can really talk with anyone there, but make an effort to find John Stokes (he’s in charge of all of the projects in the corridor), Marty Hefferan (Head of Parks), Zoe Whyman, Kelly Dimartino, Darrin Atteberry, any City Council Members (especially your representative). Tell a personal story about why this is important to you/your family/your friends. It would be great to see broad representation from the community, so feel free to invite friends and co-workers.

Thanks!