At the Sept. 1 Pagosa Springs Town Council meeting, Parks and Recreation Director Darren Lewis recommended to the council that the town-run kids’ summer camp be discontinued.
Lewis explained that this recommendation came with a “heavy heart,” as he launched and ran the K.I.D.S. (Kickin’ It During Summer) camp since 2016.
He cited continued security and safety concerns with holding the kids’ camp at the Ross Aragon Community Center since the building is open to the general public and as the state of Colorado has increased regulations around child security for camps over the last few years.
It would be “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to upgrade that building to meet the security requirements, he explained.
If the camp continued in the Community Center building, “it would be very difficult if a situation occurred,” he said.
The “stringent security thing is a big part” of why he stated he was recommending the town to discontinue the program.
It wasn’t so much how it affected the kids, he added, but is more about “those trying to use the facilities that are not kids” when the camp is going on.
He cited adults who use the facilities for showers and the gym and how difficult it was to have the kids secure from the general population.
He said, “We need to find someone else to take over,” adding that he had spoken to the director of the Pagosa Community Initiative (PCI), Rebecca Tenpenny, about taking this project on.
“She said that she feels like she can fill this gap,” he said, “and it’s time to move on from this and go down a different road.”
He added, “If PCI could do it, I’d feel more comfortable.”
The Parks and Recreation Department is also looking into doing “one-week camps, every other week — a variety of different camps that have different instructors,” he said.
“You’re not regulated by the state when you have those … and we won’t have to subsidize these camps,” citing a $42,000 cost for last year’s town-run camp.
Council member Leonard Martinez stated that he was “caught off guard by this,” saying that he didn’t “know this was coming.”
“I think about the families who need this in the summer time while at work,” Martinez said, adding that he worries that the cost of a camp run by PCI might be unaffordable to some families.
He also asked Lewis if this would impact town staff at all, with Lewis replying that the Parks and Rec staff wouldn’t really be affected.
Council member Gary Williams suggested that the council should fund PCI at a higher amount, through its early childhood education funding, if it takes on the responsibility of the camp.
Council member Brooks Lindner suggested that if a new school facility gets built, the town could revisit running the camp in that facility.
When a motion was made to discontinue the program, it was passed by the council, with Leonard Martinez voting against it.
derek@pagosasun.com
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