Gilpin residents have enjoyed their beautiful Community Center ever since it was completed in 2003. The Center, the showpiece for Gilpin Parks & Recreation, offers many programs, and features a gym, cardio hall, weight room, fitness studio, two pools, indoor track, locker room & showers, youth camp room, and multipurpose room. The grounds include a community garden, nature trail, and fairgrounds, with an indoor and outdoor arena. Pete Gones Memorial Park is across Highway 46, with sports fields and a playground.
On top of providing a space and equipment for individuals to maintain their physical and mental health, Parks & Rec also provides a space for community gatherings and childcare. The Center has the only licensed school-age after-school and summer childcare center in the county, made affordable by multiple grants.
Priding itself on building relationships with members of the broader Peak to Peak community, the Center serves the Gilpin community, but is open to all. County residents (Black Hawk, Central City, Rollinsville) have membership and activity discounts. With the only swimming pools that don’t require a trip “down the hill,” the Center has visitors from all over the Front Range.
Recreation Generalist Maura Turner tells us that “many of the Center’s offerings, including childcare, community events, the fields, and playground, would not be possible without grants. The leadership team has worked hard to find and obtain many grants to supplement Parks & Rec funding, allowing the Center to offer many vital programs and services for the community. At this point, 11% of the total revenues come from grants.”
Current grants include Substance Abuse Prevention; Child Care Sustainability; Workforce Retention; Tony Grampsas Youth Services; Alan Green Memorial Foundation; GOCO Resilient Communities; Department of Agriculture; and Corona Virus Relief Fund.
These various grants enable the Center to offer childcare; the Eagle Teen Program for after-school activities; league sports like soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball, and softball; fitness classes; fitness clubs; group and personal training; and holiday and other special events.
Somehow, all of this is offered by a staff of six full-time and 20 part-time individuals, plus five contract instructors. Turner has noted that “before Covid we had nine full-time staff, and 51 part-time staff.” Director Gabrielle Chisholm adds “We have several volunteers that are youth coaches, class instructors and event helpers. The Friends of the Gilpin County Community Center also help with volunteer efforts and funding opportunities for residents. This group was also instrumental in getting the community center reopened. Gilpin residents will remember that the Center closed during the peak of the Covid pandemic, to much sorrow on the part of those relying on the Center’s services.
“We would like to have extended hours and reopen the facility on Tuesdays as well, but currently do not have the budget for the staffing hours this would require,” Turner tells The Mountain-Ear. Meanwhile, she adds, she hopes Peak to Peak residents will continue to enjoy the current offerings of the Gilpin County Community Center.
Check the Community Center’s website at https://gilpincounty. colorado.gov/explore-gilpin/parksand recreation for programs and hours of operation. The Center is also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gilpincounty.org/ or reachable by phone at 303-582-1453. The Center is located at 250 Norton Drive, Black Hawk. For Friends of the Community Center, see GilpinCommunityCenter.org.
Sponsored by Gilpin County Commissioners, with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
