Rifle city councilors reviewed a feasibility study Wednesday showing a proposed fieldhouse and activity center at Metro Park would cost up to $46.6 million to build — and require a public vote to fund — while also hearing the launch of a new on-demand bus service and fielding an urgent plea to find permanent funding for a regional transit route set to expire in November.
The June 3 regular meeting of the Rifle City Council opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. Mayor Hostetler and Councilors Roberts, Clancy, Bornholdt, Grassley, Rice, and Marsh were all present. Before presentations began, Mayor Hostetler summarized three workshop items: a preliminary discussion of returning a lodging tax increase to the ballot in 2026, with no decisions made; an update on the city’s drought management plan, with the mayor saying Rifle is in good shape with no major summer shortage expected and voluntary conservation efforts planned; and a preview of the fieldhouse feasibility study to follow.
The fieldhouse feasibility study, produced over ten months by Collab Architecture and Studio CKA, presented two cost scenarios for a proposed activity center adjacent to the existing pool complex at the corner of 16th Street and Railroad Avenue. A facility without an indoor aquatic component would run approximately $30 million, inclusive of a 28 percent soft cost covering design, equipment, and site development. Adding an indoor pool — the community’s top-requested amenity in public engagement — brings the total to $46.6 million. The study drew on input from 138 online survey participants and multiple pop-up events, finding strong demand for indoor courts, turf, aquatics, fitness space, and multi-generational programming.
Operationally, the full facility with aquatics would cost roughly $1.8 million per year to run and generate an estimated $1.2 million annually in memberships, daily passes, and rentals — a subsidy gap of about $600,000 per year, or 68 percent cost recovery. Without the pool, the operational deficit drops to around $400,000 per year. Jordan Lochner, founding principal of Collab Architecture, told the council the preferred Metro Park site was selected from eight or nine candidates for its parking efficiencies, pedestrian connectivity, and proximity to the existing pool and skate park. He told the council any decision made now would put the first resident inside the facility roughly five years out, once funding, design, and construction run their course. Parks & Recreation Director Austin Rickstrew said next steps would likely involve hiring a municipal financial advisor to model a potential bond or tax question for voters.
The meeting opened with two residents speaking to transit funding. One urged the council to find a permanent solution for the Rifle-to-Glenwood Springs Hogback route before its funding lapses in November, saying she takes the bus to work in Glenwood five days a week, avoids up to 10,000 miles annually on her personal vehicle, and values the safety of not driving the dangerous I-70 South Canyon corridor. A second resident praised the city for launching Dial-a-Ride service, saying she used it Monday with a seven-minute wait and door-to-door service to City Market and back home.
The new on-demand bus service, operated by VIA Transit and launched June 2 as part of the Parachute Area Transit System, offers $1 rides within dedicated service zones in Rifle and in Parachute and Battlement Mesa. The fixed-route Hogback service connecting Rifle to Glenwood Springs continues separately at $4 per ride. VIA’s general manager told the council the system operates via a smartphone app or call center, accepts cash and passes, and uses ADA-accessible vehicles. The service logged at least eight rides in Rifle on its first day and was already seeing regular riders within its first week.
The council voted 6-0 to approve a letter of support for a Colorado River Valley Transit Feasibility and Planning Study sought by the Northwest Council of Governments and the Colorado River Economic Development Partnership. The study, if funded through CDOT, would examine regional transit conditions and revenue options across the valley. City Manager Patrick Waller presented the item; Councilor Grassley recused from the vote.
The interim director of the Confluence Early Childhood Development Special Service District updated the council on an organization now renamed — pending court approval across three counties — “Every Child Parachute Aspen.” The district collected more than $2 million in its first months after sales tax collection began in January, at a rate of 0.25 percent on non-essential goods across the Aspen-to-Parachute corridor, and is on track to reach the maximum $12.1 million in year-one collections. Four finalists have been named for the permanent executive director position, with a community engagement session planned at CMC Glenwood the following week. The board is developing year-one funding schemes but has not yet publicly committed to specific programs.
Colorado Mountain College Associate Dean of Education Liz Qualman and Garfield RE2 Director of Human Resources Devin Balding presented an update on the district’s teacher apprenticeship program, celebrating Justine Perry — a teacher at Walmsley Elementary School in Rifle — as the first registered teacher apprentice in Colorado to complete the program. Of 54 apprentices in the first cohort, 46 are persisting at an 85 percent rate; a 33-person second cohort finished the academic year at 100 percent. Qualman said Rifle High School will launch concurrent education enrollment this fall through a 12-credit certificate called FIRST — Foundations in Inclusive and Responsive Teaching — with support from a CareerWise grant. Twenty-two of the program’s 27 current candidates serve Rifle schools.
Four consent items passed on a split vote. Items 5A (May 20 meeting minutes), 5B (liquor license renewal for Winchester’s), and 5D (a traffic impact study criteria ordinance on second reading) passed unanimously. Item 5C — an amendment to the Rifle Municipal Code adjusting accessory dwelling unit parking requirements, also on second reading — drew no votes from Councilors Bornholdt and Rice, with the remaining five councilors approving it.
Michael Churchill, the city’s multimedia manager, proposed during council comments that the city pursue a grant-funded feasibility study for a phased municipal microgrid, citing rising electricity costs and vulnerability to potential grid shutdowns. He noted the city already has solar infrastructure at the wastewater treatment plant and water intake facility and said he hoped to bring professional evaluators before the council in early July. Councilor Rice said he supported the idea.
Waller reported that the Park and 3rd Street intersection has closed for approximately two weeks of stormwater work, with a bridge over Rifle Creek expected mid-month. The 16th Street project is nearing completion and will shift work north toward Grand Mesa. Rickstrew confirmed Birch Park is on track to open by month’s end, with pickleball courts finished the day of the meeting, sod scheduled the following week, and a grand opening announcement pending. The public pool opened for the season with swim lessons beginning Monday. The city is accepting applications for Public Works Director through the end of June; a Police Chief selection is expected at the next council meeting.
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