Denver City Council to consider $20M contract for new indoor pool at Swansea Recreation Center

Denver Parks and Recreation officials might soon be able to break ground on a new indoor pool at the Swansea Recreation Center if the Denver City Council signs off on a $20 million contract.

The parks department also stands to gain tens of millions of dollars in other contracts, in addition to the Swansea Recreation Center project. The $25.5 million in spending will support golf and maintenance equipment — much of which is outdated, according to city documents — for parks located throughout the city. This includes Denver’s mountain parks, 14,000 acres of land mostly outside of city limits and created to connect Denver residents with the outdoors, according to Denver Parks and Recreation.

Due to the nature of each park, the landscaping requirements are varied throughout the city’s wildland network. Because of this, the council will consider three master purchase orders worth $17 million with Patlen Enterprises, $6.5 million with Potestio Brothers Equipment and $2 million with Colorado Golf and Turf to fund ongoing park and golf course needs citywide.

In other parks department news, officials are set to settle a claim worth $125,000 for the case Morgan Riss v. Denver. Riss collided with a city-owned Chevy Silverado driven by city employee Karen Zeldin, according to the lawsuit, after Zeldin ran a red light at east 3rd Avenue and north Adams Street in August of 2021. Riss suffered back injuries.

It is one of two claims the city must pay that total $200,000. The second claim is related to a case in 2022 where a man alleged Denver Police Officers grabbed him and held him to the ground, despite no indication of a crime committed.

Councilmembers will likely approve two resolutions approving contracts worth $2 million to the Downtown Denver Partnership Inc. and Sasaki Associates Inc. to work on updating the Downtown Area Plan in Council Districts 1, 3, 9 and 10.

Here are other matters appearing before the City Council Monday afternoon:

Contracts/Resolutions:

24-0865: A resolution approving a contract with FCI Constructors for $21 million for construction at the Swansea Recreation Center, including the indoor pool addition and infrastructure updates.

24-0919, 0920 and 0921: Three contracts for master purchase orders totalling $25.5 million for golf and park maintenance at Denver Parks citywide – including Denver Mountain Parks.

24-0992 and 0993: Two resolutions settling claims involving the Denver Police Department (0992) and Denver Parks and Recreation (0993). Denver Police is settling a claim related to Aaron Hernandez v. Denver worth $75,000 and Denver Parks and Recreation is settling a claim related to Morgan Riss v. Denver worth $125,000.

24-0880 and 0881: Two resolutions approving grant agreements with the state Department of Local Affairs for $7 million and $17.3 million, respectively. The money will help the city acquire the Denver Navigation Center which offers service for homeless people with complex needs and/or long term homelessness.

24-0886: A resolution approving an intergovernmental agreement between Denver and the Denver Housing Authority for $8.5 million and three or more years – or contract completion – for the construction of a park along the South Platte River in Sun Valley. This resolution is phase one of the overall project.

Bills:

24-0909: A bill being introduced seeking to terminate and dissolve a portion of the Santa Fe Pedestrian Mall local maintenance district and redirect the money into the general fund. City officials cite property owners within the district questioning the district’s existence and the fact that the city is the only board member, with no one else interested in serving on it.

24-0884: A bill being introduced amending an intergovernmental agreement with the Mile High Flood District, adding $2.7 million for a new total of $8 million, to fund construction of drainage and flood control improvements in Council District 7.

24-0882: A bill on final consideration approving a revenue agreement between Denver and the State of Colorado’s Division of Criminal Justice accepting $8.2 million for the 2024-2025 community corrections program.

Public Hearings:

24-0897: A bill for an ordinance approving a resolution requesting the renewal and continuance of the Colfax Mayfair Business Improvement District for an additional ten-year period.

24-0898: A bill approving a resolution requesting the renewal and continuance of the Santa Fe Business Improvement District for 10 more years.