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<br />The Durango Telegraph - Cover Story <br /> <br /> <br />Lombardo stands with plans for a <br />Glenwood Springs whitewater park. <br />His company, Hydraulic Design Group, <br />competed against Gary Lacy to design <br />the project. IPhoto by Missy Votel <br /> <br />UUU~1.b <br /> <br />"What Lacy typically does is take C- rivers and <br />turn them into C+," said Lombardo. "But what <br />we have here is a B+ or A- river that we just <br />may want to fix." <br /> <br />Lombardo also said his desire to enter the <br />field was born of a need to help the <br />environment. <br /> <br />"I want to make more play parks in cities so <br />people don't have to travel long distances just <br />to paddle and burn fossil fuels," he said. <br /> <br />Lombardo said he and Jones decided to join <br />forces professionally after working with other <br />community members to build a play hole <br />downriverfrom Smelter in 2000. <br /> <br />"Basically, it was spurred from building Corner <br />Pocket," he said. <br /> <br />The hole, which has withstood three years of run-off, has gained a dedicated <br />following among the local and national paddling community, he said. <br /> <br />"World champion Eric Southwick said <br />it was the best hole in the 11-state <br />area," said Lombardo. <br /> <br />And while Jones and Lombardo <br />scored a coup with Corner Pocket, as <br />local paddlers may know, they were <br />not so lucky with work that was <br />performed on Smelter that same <br />year. With the force of the following <br />spring's run-off, a rock in the hole <br />shifted, creating a strong "keeper" <br />hydraulic at certain water levels. <br /> <br />Lombardo said that shifting rocks and <br />mutating features go with the <br />territory, adding that two of Lacy's <br />recent projects - one in Salida and <br />one Steamboat Springs - met similar <br />fates. Without the use of grout, or <br />cement, to hold rocks in place, most <br />manmade river features will require <br />regular maintenance, he said. <br /> <br />"Does the city build a park and then <br />never come back to water the grass? <br />You have to have maintenance," he <br />said. <br /> <br />Nevertheless, Lombardo said he and <br />Jones learned a lesson in humility <br />from the Smelter experience, <br />particularly how to reconcile the <br />desires of different user groups. <br /> <br />"We definitely learned a lot from that," <br />he said. "Enough to know how to deal <br /> <br /> <br />The City of Durango has replaced the <br />Boulder company hired to work on Smelter <br />Rapid this fall, opting instead to use local <br />resources. <br /> <br />"Representatives from the local river <br />community requested that we take a different <br />direction and utilize the expertise we have <br />locally and see if we can come up with a <br />design and work together on that," said <br />Cathy Metz, Durango director of parks and <br />recreation. <br /> <br />Last year, Gary Lacy, of Recreation <br />Engineering and Planning, was contracted by <br />the city to make improvements to whitewater <br />features at Smelter. However, there was <br />opposition to his plan as well as the use of an <br />outside company to do the work. <br /> <br />"We decided not to pursue the services of <br />Gary Lacy and are going to pursue another <br />method of community involvement," said <br />Metz. <br /> <br />http://www.durangotelegraph.com/03-07-10/local_news.htm <br /> <br />Page2of4 <br /> <br />4/27/2004 <br />