Welcome - Denver Parks and Recreation Welcome to Denver, Colorado where our parks and recreation facilities are unrivaled in the Rocky Mountain West. Denver enjoys one of the most diverse, expansive, and historic parks and recreation systems in the nation.     Mission: As stewards of Denver's legacy, the Department of Parks and Recreation is dedicated to customer satisfaction and enhancing lives by providing innovative programs and safe, beautiful, sustainable places. Vision: To be a nationally recognized leader providing model programs and dynamic public spaces.   What's New at Denver Parks and Recreation Want to know what's happening at your local recreation center or keep on top of events at your neighborhood park?  Sign up for Denver Parks and Recreation's free eNewsletter.

News and Events Future of Denver Recreation Centers Public Meetings The National Civic League will conduct, facilitate and co-host a series of community outreach meetings along with GreenPlay LLC and Denver Parks and Recreation that will offer the opportunity for the community to provide input into the development into a long term strategic plan that addresses the “Future of Recreation Centers” in Denver.  A pair of public meetings will be held in each of eight communities that will provide Denver citizens, recreation users and non-users an opportunity to provide suggestions and ideas for the future vision of a recreation center system in an objectionable and equitable way.  Discussions will include the purpose and role in providing programs and services along with community partners that supports residents of all ages as well as the consideration of location, size amenities and fees for our recreation centers and programs.  Please note that Spanish- speaking translators will be present at all meetings.  Sign language interpreter and/or CART is provided upon request with a three business day request notice to Lorrie Kisinski, 720-913-2427 or lorrie.knsinski@denvergov.org  Written comments and suggestions relating to the community meeting discussions can also be submitted to www.denvergov.org/recreation in the suggestion box section.  Any questions regarding the community meetings can be directed to Recreation Administration at davis.talley@denvergov.org .  All community meetings will be held from 6:00pm-8:00 with light refreshments served.    Date Center Address Phone July 30/ August 13 Eisenhower Recreation Center 4300 E. Dartmouth Ave. (303)692-5650 July31/August 14 Martin Luther King Recreation Center 3880 Newport St. (303)331-4034 August 5/August 19 Four Mile Historic Park 715 S. Forest St. (720)865-0800 August 6/August 20 Quigg Newton Community Center 4440 Navajo St. (720)865-0100 August 7/August 21 Rude Recreation Center 2855 W. Holden Pl. (303)572-4795 September 2/September 16 Montbello Recreation Center 15555 E. 53rd Ave. (303)373-8708 September 3/September 17 Bruce Randolph School 3955 Steele St. (720)913-0689 September 4/ September 18 Harvey Park Recreation Center 2121 S. Tennyson St. (303)937-4650     Civic Center Design Guidelines Denver Parks and Recreation is seeking citizen input for the draft Park Design Guidelines for Civic Center.  An advisory committee and several public meetings held since February, 2008 helped to develop the draft guidelines based on 2005 Civic Center Park Master Plan.  These guidelines will direct the implementation of $9.5 million of the Better Denver Bond funding to restore the Greek Theater, Voorhies Memorial, Broadway Terrace, park walkways and balustrades.  The guidelines will also become a basis for other park improvement projects that may be funded in the future.    Tina Bishop, Mundus Bishop Design, has been contracted to prepare the guidelines.  The guidelines will provide parameters for materials, park structures such as kiosks, benches and signage, mass and scale for new features, guidance on level of restoration of historic features and other improvements so these are consistent with the historic character and experience of the park landscape.  The objective is to finalize the guidelines to be formally adopted by Denver Parks and Recreation, the Landmark Preservation Commission and City Council in the Fall, 2008.   Cover and Table of Contents Chapters 1-3 Chapter 4 Chapters 5-10 Back Cover   The guidelines will be on review for a period of 60 days from June 30 through August 28, 2008. Please send comments to: Please send comments to: Mark.Bernstein@denvergov.org   For questions, please call Mark Bernstein at (720) 913-0632. Off the Wall Community Fair in Swansea Neighborhood Join Councilwoman Judy Montero and Swansea Recreation Center on Saturday, July 12 for the Swansea Neighborhood Project.  The days events include live mural painting, basketball games, bouncy castle, face painting and much, much more.  For more information, click here Submissions Sought for Buffalo Bill Museum RFQ “The Buffalo Bill Gravesite and Museum and Pahaska Tepee (the historic lodge that formerly housed the museum) are key attractions within the Denver Mountain Park system, located on Lookout Mountain. No historical figure, both in fact and in perception, has captured the allure, the realities, the ironies, and the mythology of the American West as Buffalo Bill Cody.  Denver Parks and Recreation seeks a consultant to help the city-owned and managed Buffalo Bill Museum transition to a more independent cultural institution, with its own Board of Directors. We’re publishing this Request for Qualifications to select a consultant to help the Buffalo Bill Museum and Denver Parks and Recreation with: Recommendation of the best governance model for Buffalo Bill Museum within the City structure. Increased community awareness of and advocacy for Buffalo Bill Museum A preliminary Board of Trustees identified, recruited, and trained.   Submissions will be taken until July 31, 2008.  Click here, or the RFQ . For information, call Museum Director, Steve Friesen, at 303.526.0744 or steve.friesen@denvergov.org. Game On!- Denver Waives Youth Rec Center Fees for Summer Mayor John Hickenlooper and Denver Parks and Recreation Acting Manager Scott Robson today announced that Denver youth age 17 and younger may use City recreation centers, including swimming pools, for free this summer.  Free admission begins Monday, June 2 - the day City swimming pools open - and will run thorugh Saturday, August 16.  Standard fees will continue to apply for programs and activities that typically are offered at an additional charge.  read more  Movies in the Parks Movies in the Parks provides community residents with free, outdoor film entertainment in neighborhood parks. The program helps to strengthen Denver communities by bringing neighbors together for a local celebration. Read More          Public Meeting - Denver Police Athletic League, Denver Parks and Recreation Proposed Partnership Councilman Chris Nevitt and Denver Parks and Recreation invite you to a public meeting to learn about an exciting new partnership between Denver Parks and Recreation (DPR) and the Denver Police Athletic League (PAL).  This meeting will take place at 6:00pm on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at the Rose of Lima church located at 1320 W Nevada Place (one block South of Alameda between Pecos and Navajo Streets). Through this partnership:  * PAL will invest approximately $5 million in athletic field improvements at no cost to the City * PAL will utilize these fields, at no cost to PAL, based on their current field usage (which has a monetary value significantly less than their $5 million investment).  Any additional use by PAL will be at normal rental rates.  * The city will be able to provide Tier 1, lighted, athletic fields to other user groups which will enhance the city’s athletic field inventory and athletic field revenues.  Councilman Nevitt, DPR, and PAL hope you will join us on Thursday, July 31, 2008 to learn more about this exciting development in our relationship. Addressing the Algae in Ferrill Lake This year there was a combination of conditions that encouraged an especially bad flourishing of algae in Denver’s urban park lakes.  High nutrient levels from the recycled water (treated sewage water is very high in nitrogen) and a stand of algae that matured from the new growth created after the lake was re-filled last year were among the contributing factors.  The most obvious algae observed in the lake are the filamentous algae, or commonly referred to as "pond scum" or "pond moss" which forms greenish mats upon the water's surface.  This algae usually begins its growth along the edges or bottom of the pond and "mushrooms" to the surface.  Chemical treatments are the recommended short term method of controlling algae growth, however the treatments must be applied in gradual dosages so as not to negatively impact non-target organisms such as fish or bird populations. Cutrine, a copper chelate (Copper II alkanolamine complex) herbicide is being used to treat the algae.  Water treated with cutrine is generally non-toxic to fish, birds and other animals and can be used for irrigation and recreational uses if the product is applied in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. The treatment must be applied in phases to prevent a sudden, massive algal die off.  If too much algae is killed in one treatment, the oxygen demand caused by algae decay could result in oxygen depletion and a potential fish-kill.  Park staff also began raking out the matted algae with a forked device attached to a pontoon boat to try to speed up the process of removal.   Links: http://www.appliedbiochemists.com/labels/CutrineGran.pdf

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