Locals Get in on Whitewater Park Action

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The Durango Telegraph - Cover Story "What Lacy typically does is take C- rivers and turn them into C +," said Lombardo. "But what we have here is a B+ or A- river that we just may want to fix." Lombardo also said his desire to enter the field was born of a need to help the environment. " I want to make more play parks in cities so people don't have to travel long distances just to paddle and burn fossil fuels," he said. Lombardo said he and Jones decided to join forces professionally after working with other community members to build a play hole downriver from Smelter in 2000. "Basically, it was spurred from building Corner Pocket," he said. The hole, which has withstood three years of run -off, has gained a dedicated following among the local and national paddling community, he said. "World champion Eric Southwick said it was the best hole in the 11 -state area," said Lombardo. And while Jones and Lombardo" scored a coup with Corner Pocket, as local paddlers may know, they were not so lucky with work that was performed on Smelter that same year. With the force of the following spring's run -off, a rock in the hole shifted, creating a strong "keeper' hydraulic at certain water levels. Lombardo said that shifting rocks and mutating features go with the territory, adding that two of Lacy's recent projects — one in Salida and one Steamboat Springs — met similar fates. Without the use of grout, or cement, to hold rocks in place, most manmade river features will require regular maintenance, he said. "Does the city build a park and then never come back to water the grass? You have to have maintenance," he said. Nevertheless, Lombardo said he and Jones learned a lesson in humility from the Smelter experience, particularly how to reconcile the desires of different user groups. The City of Durango has replaced the Boulder company hired to work on Smelter Rapid this fall, opting instead to use local resources. "Representatives from the local river community requested that we take a different direction and utilize the expertise we have locally and see if we can come up with a design and work together on that," said Cathy Metz, Durango director of parks and recreation. Last year, Gary Lacy, of Recreation Engineering and Planning, was contracted by the city to make improvements to whitewater features at Smelter. However, there was opposition to his plan as well as the use of an outside company to do the work. "We decided not to pursue the services "We definitely learned a lot from that," Gary Lacy and are going to pursue anotl he said. "Enough to know how to deal method of community involvement," s Metz. http://www.durangotelegraph.com/03-07-10/local Page 2 of 4 4/5/2004 Lombardo stands with plans for a Glenwood Springs whitewater park. His company, Hydraulic Design Group, competed against Gary Lacy to design the project. /Photo by Missy Vote[