Club Meetings
Morning - Are held every Tuesday, 8:00 AM at the Mountain Resource Center on Kitty Drive.
Evening - The next evening meeting will be Wednesday, May 18th at 5:30 PM at Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church in Conifer.
Announcements
- We are looking for sponsors for ConiferFest. This funds our grants. Please look for sponsors, and then run them through Marlys and/or Janine. Website is ConiferFest.com.
- Club Service positions available:
- Sergeant-at-Arms for June & July - Join the fun at the Tuesday morning meeting by welcome members!!
- WebMaster - If you would like to be the webmaster, please email Diana P. for information.
- Mental health and wellness far - Bridget and Yvonne spoke about a plan for a mental health and wellness fair. We want to demystify, de-stigmatize and normalize mental health care. We’re thinking of everything from aromatherapy and creative journaling, yoga, meditation, therapy dogs. We’ll also have organizations that have resources for mental health, such as Resilience 12-20, Mount Evans hospice, Mountain Resource Center, and a pharmacist to explain drugs. We can have a neuropsych physician to explain how to break a nervous habit, and mental health first aid.It will be on Feb. 17, 2024, at Our Lady of the Pines, from 10 to 4. We will finalize the grant application and in mid-May we will do vendor outreach.Topics include: “I matter,” and “It’s ok not to be ok.” It will be aimed at adults and youth, LGBTQ, vets.Ann suggested a stop smoking unit and an introduction to non-violent communications, but to call it “How to get along with people who disagree with you.” Another title could be “How to cheer yourself up,” instead of “Depression.”More suggestions were: Second Wind, UC Health, whole person health, Mind-Body-Spirit connection, love yourself for Valentine’s Day, child psychologist, equine therapy, and pet a puppy. Marketing is essential.Diana: Contact Bridget and Yvonne through email through Clubrunner.
Upcoming Socials - All are welcome!
- May Italian Potluck Social hosted by Tim Berg on May 20 4-8pm.
Guests
Welcome back Carrie L.
Upcoming Events
Rotary International Conference - May 27-31, 2023 Melbourne, Australia
Coniferfest - August 12, 2023 In the event field behind Our Lady of the Pine.
Program Rotary Tuesday AM 4.25.23 - Wyatt Yates, Beaver Ranch Community Park
Morti: Welcome Wyatt Yates, who is here to speak about the Beaver Ranch community park. He was a CPA, then worked for a private equity firm. He is president of the board of the non-profit that runs the 450-acre Beaver Ranch Park.
Wyatt Yates: Beaver Ranch Park is jointly managed by us and Jeffco Open Space. We have worked on a master plan. The park is funded by the disc golf company and the zip line operator and rentals for events like weddings.
In the Conifer Area Council survey, people asked for a playground. There is a small one now, with not much shade. The school district told us there are 500 students with physical or mental or behavioral disabilities within a 5-mile radius.
Our vision is a new playground, three times as large, accessible to all. There will be little cubbies, places to roll a wheelchair around or usable with crutches.
We did lots of outreach and now have some designs on the website. Now we are on step two, fundraising. The county is supportive, but it can’t allocate dollars from the budget for playground. Our designs cost $600,000 to $1 million. We’ve applied for some grants. This project checks a lot of boxes for funders. We are working with a fundraiser.
We can incorporate shade with the playground structures.
County is selecting a design/build contractor for the overall project at the park. The event area will become a parking lot, with the trailhead near the front. The project will improve access and pave the roads. It places most of the parking near the entrance. There will be a road to the dog park and Tipi Lodge, but with limited access. Disc golf will get a new pro shop.
We will apply for over $5 million in grants. Jeffco is helping us with grants. Please email us suggestions. Please spread the word.
Jeffco received $1.1 million from the sale of the Broncos, to be used for youth activities. Jeffco is still finalizing the program; and we have contacted them. Also looking at a recreation grant from Covid relief dollars, and Conservation Trust Funds.
Q: Will there be an adult exercise section?
Wyatt: Most playgrounds are set up for a certain age, but we want to incorporate features for teens and adults. We will include STEM items, such as interactive items to touch and feel. It won’t be just traditional play structures, because we have the room. We will have swings for parent and toddler facing each other; and merry-go-rounds at wheelchair height, set up so kids can face the other kids.
Janine: San Jose Rotary built a park that’s incredible.
Wyatt: Our timeline calls for completion about 2025, maybe 2024. Rubberized surfacing has to be installed during the summer. The actual playground only takes a month to build. There will be two shaded structures.
Q: Security?
Wyatt: Two maintenance people and a park director are on site most days. The county has rangers who come in. There also is a ranger at Reynolds Park who comes up quite a bit.
We now get 90,000 visitors a year. About 17% use the playground. We expect that to double. We will use a certified playground installer because there are requirements for fall heights, spacing etc. There could be a 15-year warranty on equipment from the manufacturer.
The lodge needs work, like an ADA bathroom. That’s on hold until we do the playground.
I took a year and a half off with Covid, saw my family and realized I needed to make a change. I took my daughter on her first back-packing trip at age 4 and she went 15 miles the first day. I started my own business called Rugged Financial, which does outsourced accounting for companies. His wife is a professional runner, and her company is called Rugged Running.
Charlotte commented that she has a family wedding due this summer at the park and she loves the space.
Wyatt: It’s one of the most accessible mountain parks in the whole country. Disc golf course is the 11th best in the world. We are thinking we could do a short disc golf course where the current dog park is, so it could be wheelchair accessible.
Janine: We helped get track chairs for Staunton State Park.