Problems Piling Up In City Parks

Problems Piling Up In City Parks

Budget Squeeze Nurtures Shabby Lawns, Fewer Flowers Plus Whiffs Of Funky-Foul Odor As City Cuts Garbage Pickups

by Glen Richardson

Lovely, clean running paths. Beautiful landscaped parks that are unrivaled in the Mountain West. As the pandemic has surged, Valley residents have become increasingly worried about the rippling effect the epidemic and ensuing economic tsunami will have on Denver’s park system.

Parkways In Peril: Parks & Recreation is also responsible for care and maintaining of the city’s treasured complex of parkways such as this stretch of 6th Ave. Parkway. Neighborhoods and residents fear budgets now put them in danger of becoming dry, dusty prairie again.

As the virus and subsequent stay-at-home order wore on during the summer, residents of all ages embraced city parks and neighborhood streets as a way to reduce stress-anxiety and as an antidote to cabin fever. Life literally and factually became “like a walk in the park.”

The big question now: What will Denver city parks look like this winter and into next spring?

Double-Barreled Jolt

With more than 200 parks totaling over five-thousand-acres within the city and county of Denver, the twin crises of the pandemic and an economy in free fall are putting Denver parks under punishing pressure. The crunch is principally due to the sharp drop in all forms of city tax revenue.

Color Palette Paralyzed: The finale of colors common in city parks during the summer are likely to remain closer to winter brown in 2021. The pandemic plus an economy in free fall are putting parks under punishing pressure.

Steps under consideration or already being implemented include hiring freezes, furloughing or laying off employees, putting projects on hold and foregoing planned purchases (including new park space). The city is trimming another 6% from the department’s budget this year (2021), the Parks Department’s second consecutive austerity year.

Although cuts to the department’s previously rosy budgets are hard-hitting, the impact of the cutback will most likely be felt due to the dramatic drop in the number of experienced employees. At the end of summer two dozen of Park & Recreation’s most experienced employees were offered retirement packages. Combined those retirees had 535 years of service-experience, averaging 25 years with the department. Look for their loss to erode the places where Denver’s outdoor-loving residents work and play, hike and bike more than all other factors combined. Another 19-20 full-time employees are likely to take the incentive retirement program if it is offered this year.

Fading Facade

The initial reaction to the changing appearance of nearby parks for many residents will simply be, “They cut cost but not the grass.”

Flower Funds Fizzle: Denver lacks funds to feed the Greenhouse for Denver Parks & Recreation in the year ahead. Site normally propagates 250,000 annuals, perennials, shrubs and stock plants for the city park districts.

What’s realistic?: Expect a reduction in mowing, fertilization and irrigation to impact the appearance of lawns and gardens in parks around the city. More: Also anticipate a major increase in litter and trash accumulation.

The bottom line: Longtime park employees still remaining say that park spaces around the city will become scrappy, patchy and disorderly. But, “without deteriorating significantly,” they add hopefully.

Fewer Flowers

The cutback will be most noticeable from a distance or when riding in a car as residents notice longer grass, more weeds, fewer flowers and more snow.

Park lawns and turf fields — grass to play sports on — that were aesthetically pleasing in previous years will be considerably less eye-catching. The reason is the department is now weeding weekly and trimming every three weeks. In addition, the department will plant fewer flower beds come flower bed season. Without shoveling, residents will also observe that the snow is sticking around longer.

The city also watered park lawns less last year, but say they don’t plan to reduce irrigation in 2021. The department also won’t let up on planting trees as they fear many are doomed once the emerald ash borer hits Denver. Already confirmed in Arvada, the invasive beetle preys on ash, the second-most prevalent tree in the city.

Garbage Buildup

Those walking near parks, even when wearing a mask, are likely to notice a funky, foul odor coming from within.

Small Worries: Small retreats such as Alamo Placita Park north of Speer Blvd. are also under pressure. City-county has more than 200 parks totaling over 5,000 acres.

Reason for the whiffs of rank, putrid scents within and along the parameter of parks is due to a dramatic cut in garbage pickups, including dog-poop trash cans.

The department slashed trash removal by 1,800 hours per month last year, and is foregoing scheduled garbage pickups again this year. In addition to garbage within parks, Parks & Rec has scaled back maintenance of all city parkways and removed all dog poop trash cans.

Rec Center Hours

For families with youngsters at home, however, shorter hours and fewer programs at some of the city’s 30 rec centers will be felt the most since many homes rely on them after school. Community spaces for kids are, of course, currently shuttered. Closure, however is not due to budget cuts but because of COVID-19 public health orders.

Current plans call for reopening of city rec centers on April 15, 2021. If and when they do open, eight will have shorter hours. They are what the Parks & Rec Department consider Denver’s bigger, regional centers that can absorb more cuts with fewer negative effects than most “neighborhood” rec centers.

The eight major rec centers that will have shorter hours when they do reopen are: Scheitler, Washington Park, Rude, Montclair, Montbello, Central Park, Carla Madison, and Athmar Park. Officials say that centers serving lower-income areas will not have their hours cut upon reopening.

Bathrooms, Vehicles

Bathrooms in city parks are normally closed during the winter since most don’t have heat. This year, of course, they were shuttered due to the pandemic. The Park & Rec Department’s original plan was to keep them closed to save money even if public health gave the go ahead to reopen. Councilwoman Robin Kniech, however, secured money from the Hancock administration to open restrooms and portajohns with handwashing stations this spring.

Currently Denver has seven parks closed to vehicles: Cheesman Park, City Park, Congress Park, Inspiration Point, Ruby Hill, Sloan’s Lake and Washington Park. Expect them to remain closed to cars during the pandemic, but a final decision won’t be made until after a public process this summer.

During the current crisis, Denver’s parks have provided a relatively safe respite from our stressful, often isolating lives during the pandemic. They’ve provided recreation when the city’s usual venues — museums, theaters, schools, stores, movies, bars, and just about everything else — have been closed. As the New Year begins it is unclear whether the city’s budget woes will wallop Denver parks beyond functional use.

Christmas At Gaylord Rockies Until January 3, 2021

Christmas At Gaylord Rockies Until January 3, 2021

Save Up To 40 Percent With Ticket Bundles

by Mark Smiley

The Covid-19 global pandemic may have dampened the spirits of some but at Gaylord Rockies in Denver, they are doing their best to keep the spirit alive with their Christmas at Gaylord Rockies. Mistletoe Village on the convention center wing of the hotel still features Build a Bear Workshop, cookies with Mrs. Claus, a gingerbread house decorating station, gift shop, and the all new I Love Christmas Movies exhibit. All of these are more spread out than years past, offering a chance for guests to feel more comfortable and social distance.

I Love Christmas Movies: Walk through your favorite Christmas movies in the all-new 17,000 sq. ft. multi-sensory exhibit. This multi-sensory journey will take you through over 13 scenes from five iconic Christmas movies.

The west side of the hotel features acres of twinkling lights and decorations and holiday activities including snow tubing, ice bumper boats, Merry-Go-Round and ice skating. The I Love Christmas Movies pop-up experience replaces the Ice exhibit this year (although Ice will return next year). A guide takes small groups through replica movie sets from movies such as Polar Express, Christmas Vacation, Elf, A Christmas Story, and A Year Without Santa Claus.

Although the Christmas spirit is alive at the resort, they have set up stringent safety protocols to keep their guests safe. The resort has directional arrows for walking through the resort and hand sanitizing stations throughout. The Pinyons bar now forms a single file line to order drinks which allows for social distancing. For the time being, the other restaurants offer food to go only. However, the resort does allow outside food to be brought in. Convenient options are services such as Uber Eats or GrubHub.

Snow Tubing: Features a four-lane tubing hill that’s fun for all ages and covered in real snow. Zoom down the lanes, race to the bottom, and enjoy unlimited runs on your ticket date ($17.99 per person).

The demanding standards of cleanliness have risen to an even higher level with new protocols for the current circumstances. Gaylord Rockies has elevated their cleanliness standards and changing hospitality norms. As a part of Marriott International’s family, they have put in place a multi-pronged approach designed to meet the health and safety challenges presented by COVID-19 as outlined in Marriott’s Commitment to Clean.

Enhanced technologies, including the testing of electrostatic sprayers and implementing the highest classification of disinfectants recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization are being used to sanitize surfaces throughout the hotel and convention center.

Gaylord Rockies has implemented extra-stringent daily cleaning procedures that are focused heavily on high touchpoint areas. Public spaces, including, but not limited to, the lobby, aquatic areas, fitness centers, and meetings and convention spaces, have dedicated staff to sanitize frequently throughout the day.

In guest rooms, they have added detailed cleaning practices, requiring all surfaces to be thoroughly cleaned with hospital-grade disinfectants and that this cleaning is done with increased frequency. They have also placed disinfecting wipes in each guest room for guests’ personal use. For more information on their protocols, visit www.gaylordhotelsclean.marriott.com.

Gaylord Rockies is near Denver International Airport and is a Marriott property that opened in December 2018. The 486,000 square feet of convention space makes it the largest combined resort and convention center in Colorado. It is the fifth Gaylord property to open with the others located in Washington, D.C., Nashville, Orlando, and Dallas.

Decked Out: The atrium of Gaylord Rockies features a giant Christmas Tree in the middle with the fireplace decorated with stockings and lights throughout the area.

The Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center is located at 6700 North Gaylord Rockies Boulevard. For more information about the resort or to make a reservation, visit www.gaylordrockies.com. Christmas at Gaylord Rockies runs until January 3, 2021. For more information or for tickets to the events, visit www.christmasatgaylordrockies.marriott.com.