Granby's Public Works Director describes the pond at the Bark Park as sitting at "dead pool," meaning no water coming in and no water going out. According to the memo in the town's Oct. 13, 2026 Board of Trustees packet, it has been that way "for some time (years)." The pond sits on the west side of town next to Smith Creek. Granby is considering two very different changes for that piece of ground. One is small, inexpensive and could be finished by Thanksgiving. The other is a building that could cost anywhere from about $28.6 million to $56.8 million, and nobody has decided whether to build it.
Both changes keep running into the same thing. Water that sits still causes problems, and water that has to be heated, filtered and staffed all year causes bigger ones.
A Pond Built for a Golf Course That Isn't There
The Bark Park pond was never meant to be a dog pond. Staff understand that it was built to catch drainage from the fairways and sand traps of the old golf course that was planned for the site. It has no natural "freshening flows" and no water rights to keep it topped up, so the town has no practical way to keep the water clean. Dogs swim in it and drink from it. The memo calls the water quality "questionable" and says it "will only get worse over time."
Public Works Director Doug Bellatty recommends filling the pond with cobbles from the town's own pit, topped with a layer of dirt. The fill would still collect runoff after rain and let it seep back into the ground, "sight unseen." Staff want to start right away and hope to finish in November 2026. The work would take several weeks, depending on weather and staff time, and the memo says it would add no cost beyond the existing 2026 budget.
Trustees take this up as a discussion item at 6:50 p.m. on Oct. 13, so it is still a recommendation and not an approved project.
What Filling It Would Change for Dog Owners
Grand County Pet Pals, the nonprofit that runs the Bark Park, is already on board. In a Sept. 28 letter to the town, its board said it unanimously supports filling the pond. The letter also explains why the park has always closed early. Pet Pals has closed the park once the pond starts to freeze, so no dog falls through the ice. Take the pond out and the group says it could keep the park open longer each season.
That matches the town's own Granby Trails, Fishing & Dog Park page, which says the Bark Park opens only in summer and fall and stays closed through winter "until the ponds melt in the spring." The park is split into a large-dog side and a small-dog side for dogs under 30 pounds, and right now both sides reach the pond. Under the plan, Pet Pals would handle any fencing needed to keep the two sides apart once the pond is gone. The park would stay closed during the work, and Pet Pals would decide when to reopen after town staff do a safety walkthrough.
So the cost of a longer dog park season would be a few weeks of closure this fall.
The Rest of the Property Already Works Year-Round
The Bark Park is one piece of a town-owned property. The town lists a small trail system next to Sun Outdoors RV Resort and Smith Creek Crossing, the dog park and a stretch of the Colorado River, all open to the public.
- Walking trails. Roughly a mile of ADA-friendly concrete and packed-dirt paths runs around the eastern side of the property. In winter, groomed meadow trails add room for Nordic skiing and snowshoeing.
- River beats. Fishing is by reservation only, for a single beat, in a six-hour window, with two people per beat. Reservations are $25 for residents with an 80446 driver's license and $50 for nonresidents. Fishing is catch and release with barbless flies or artificial lures, and the river closes seasonally and when flows are unsafe. The town points to a 2024 Colorado Parks and Wildlife survey that found this stretch held the highest brown trout biomass ever recorded in Grand County.
- The north end. At the end of 2024, the town secured a 743-acre conservation easement. Elk, pronghorn and bald eagles use the land, and it is part of the last known Greater Sage-Grouse habitat in Middle Park. Three hundred acres will be a no-disturbance zone with no public access. The land outside it is planned to "eventually" carry about 10 miles of non-motorized trail.
The recreation center would go here too.
The Building Next Door Got Smaller Before It Got a Decision
The town's June 2026 Recreation Center Feasibility Study looked at three town-owned sites. One was a parcel donated through the Granby Ranch annexation on Coopers Way. Another was state land across the street from City Market. The third was the town-owned site on the south side of Summit Trail, known as Smith Creek Crossing. Town staff picked Smith Creek Crossing, citing access, visibility, development potential and room to expand. In January, Sky-Hi News described the site as sitting at the U.S. 40 and U.S. 34 intersection, next to the dog park and trails.
The number of options changed between winter and summer. At a Jan. 27 trustees meeting, consultants from Norris Design showed two concepts, and both had pools. Sky-Hi reported that the board and staff wanted more analysis of a third option, a smaller "dry" center without a pool at first. By June, that third option was in the study.
| Concept | January 2026 presentation | June 2026 study |
|---|---|---|
| Option A, "The Summit" | About 38,900 sq. ft., 2,500 sq. ft. pool, $39.6M | About 38,400 sq. ft., 2,500 sq. ft. activity pool, about $41M |
| Option B, "White Water" | About 53,200 sq. ft., 3,600 sq. ft. pool, $53.9M | About 52,100 sq. ft., 3,600 sq. ft. pool plus dry sauna, $56.8M |
| Option C, "Base Camp" | Not yet designed | About 31,500 sq. ft., no pool, $28.6M |
Base Camp has the same 4,600 square feet of fitness space as White Water, plus a group fitness room, an indoor playground, a bouldering wall and a 50-person classroom. A pool, sauna and larger gym are drawn in as possible later additions. The June estimates include design, site work, contingency and construction-cost escalation up to a construction midpoint of March 2030, and the study says they will be refined as design moves forward.
Why the Pool Keeps Moving to "Later"
Granby residents have been clear about what they want. Sky-Hi reported that more than 85% of survey respondents said their indoor recreation needs are only partly met or not met at all, and that aquatics ranked as one of the highest priorities. Many respondents said plainly that the town needs a recreation center with a pool.
The pool is also what drives the cost. In January, Sky-Hi reported that staffing alone was projected at nearly $1 million a year, and that five-year projections showed the center running a deficit even before any bond payments. Aquatics was singled out as a major driver of both construction and operating costs. Staff also put the debt side in numbers. Financed through 20-year bonds at 5%, the two pool concepts presented then would carry annual payments of about $3.1 million and $4.3 million.
Town Manager Ted Cherry recommended studying the dry option next. According to Sky-Hi, he said it could give a clearer cost benchmark, allow time for fundraising, and be designed so a pool could be added if money becomes available. The June study comes to the same conclusion about the two wet options, saying they carry "substantial capital and long-term operational costs due to the high costs of aquatics in the base program."
The planning dates have moved too. In January, the presentation pointed to a March 2028 construction start and an opening by March 2030. The June cost model assumes construction starts in March 2029 and finishes in March 2031. These are study assumptions, not a schedule anyone has approved.
Where It Actually Stands in October
The study lists the next steps as building a funding strategy, more public engagement, choosing a concept with schematic design, environmental coordination, refined cost estimates and an implementation plan. It names possible funding sources, including town general funds or a dedicated tax, a special recreation district, grants, private donations and user fees. None of those steps has appeared on a board agenda since the study came out:
- Board agendas for July 14, July 28, Sept. 8 and Sept. 22 list no recreation center, master plan adoption or recreation tax item.
- The Oct. 13 agenda covers the Bark Park pond, a Nuche Village workshop and the 2027 budget, with no recreation center item.
- Granby's Nov. 3 ballot has three trustee candidates for four-year terms. The county's sample ballot adds Grand County Library District issues 6B and 6C, and no recreation question.
The study does set out where the center would fit locally. It says the facility would complement the Fraser Valley Recreation District rather than compete with it directly, serving a separate group of locals and visitors. In January, Sky-Hi reported that staff expected outreach to continue through 2026 as the town decides between a full center with a pool and a phased build that adds one later. As of the Oct. 13 agenda, the Bark Park pond is the only Smith Creek Crossing item in front of trustees, and no recreation center concept, funding plan or vote has been scheduled.
To understand how a town-owned property like Smith Creek Crossing fits into Granby's longer-term plans, the team at Kristen L Meyer & Associates follows these board packets and studies closely and can walk you through what has actually been approved and what is still in the planning stage. Request a Market Consultation and we'll go through it with you.