The City of Steamboat Springs hosts Community Center Grand Opening

The City of Steamboat Springs held a Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the new Community Center on Wednesday, June 18, 2008.

The American Legion led the ceremony by presenting the flags in front of approximately 70 attendees, City staff and invited guests. The City was honored to have numerous special guest speakers at the event: Susan Kirkpatrick, the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), representatives from the City Council, Routt County Commissioners, Routt County Council on Aging, American Legion, Fox Construction and Andrews and Anderson Architects.

The City had many funding partners and would like to thank:

• Colorado Department of Local Affairs Energy Mineral Impact Fund for donating $500,000
• Routt County Commissioners - $25,000
• Routt County Council on Aging - $25,000
• American Legion - $15,000

The City would also like to thank the Sheraton Steamboat for donating the lobby furniture, the Thomas Hayes Family for the beautiful artwork and community members for their individual donations.

The Community Center is the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building in Northwest Colorado. It is also the first LEED building that DOLA has funded in the state. LEED is a rating system developed by the US Green Building Council to define and measure environmentally sustainable buildings. LEED certification acknowledges that the environmental impact of the building has been minimized while improving the indoor environment for the users of the facility.

To obtain the LEED certification, the plans for the Community Center included innovative designs for the foundation and incorporated recycled sustainable building and construction materials. Through the use of very high insulation factors, water conservation and good indoor air quality, the Community Center is extremely energy efficient and provides a healthy environment for its users. Use of sustainable building materials and construction material recycling was also an important part of obtaining the LEED certification.

The Community Center is home to many local organizations and hosts numerous public and private events. The Routt County Council on Aging and the American Legion have their offices in the building and run their programs from the Center. The facility hosts the Routt County Council on Aging meal program four days a week, numerous senior health and welfare programs, as well as the Meals on Wheels program which assists seniors in Steamboat Springs and Routt County. The City of Steamboat Springs uses the facility for its youth and teen programs while many local organizations, such as the Girl and Boy Scouts, hold their meetings in the Community Center. The building is also booked solid for weddings, reunions, and parties.

The Community Center is an attractive and useful building that provides a model of sustainability for others in the community to follow while providing an important and greatly needed public facility.