MetRec awards nearly half a million dollars to local nonprofits

Funds flowing to VanTuyl bridge, GHS soccer team

Abby Harrison Times Staff Writer

COMMUNITY: Local animals get second chance, B1

Last week, the Gunnison County Metropolitan Recreation District (MetRec) awarded nearly half a million dollars to nonprofits and other organizations at both ends of the valley.

This year’s grant budget was its largest ever. In 2022, North Subdistrict property owners voted to increase their property taxes through ballot measure 6B, a move which effectively bumped the District’s overall budget from $300,000 to $1.2 million. The district received 30 applications over a month and a half and funded 26. MetRec fully funded each of the approved projects, amounting to over $472,000 flowing into local budgets.

“As the recreation district, our primary goal is to promote vital recreation opportunities. These grants are not just investments in individual organizations but also in the overall well-being, happiness and vitality of our community,” District Manager Derrick Nehrenberg wrote in a statement to the Times

The grant program differed this year from past cycles.

MetRec redesigned the program and separated the funding out into three categories: capital, nonprofit operations support and community collaboration.

MetRec is also piloting multiyear grants and this year, and the Crested Butte Avalanche Center is one recipient. The nonprofit received a $40,000 multi-year grant that will support the organization’s operational expenses and expand its outreach program, meant to educate dog-walkers, Nordic skiers and members of the gen

MetRec A7 yard, he can usually hear the screams of glee as rafters pass through a water feature known by locals as “Psychedelic Falls.” But he recalled an afternoon late last year when those shouts turned into a scream for help.

The water had pinned a woman against trees and debris in the river. She held on tightly to her kayak, frozen with fear and from the cold of the water, as Haase called 911. Emergency responders arrived minutes later.

The river had been quiet that afternoon, and he couldn’t help Falls A6

QUOTE of the week

“I bought the pig, because I love the kid.”