The Craig City Council and consultants spent more than an hour Tuesday during a special session reviewing design and programming options for a proposed sports complex, narrowing down priorities for gym space, aquatics and other amenities.

Consultants from OLC and Ballard King & Associates discussed survey results and “minimum” and “enhanced” buildout options with the council and city staff members. By the conclusion of the meeting, the group had also informally created a third hybrid plan.

The discussion centered on addressing a longstanding demand among city residents for an increase in gym space, which several members described as the top complaint they often hear.

“Since gym space has always been an issue, and we don’t know the costs, just out of curiosity, have we considered what would be a third option of three gyms instead of just the two?,” asked council member Randy Looper as the plans were discussed.

Consultants from both OLC and Ballard King & Associates presented regarding administrative, fitness, multipurpose and aquatics areas. They also noted that the minimum plan is about 47,500 square feet and the enhanced plan about 66,600.

The council’s hybrid option three, which seemed to be the preferred plan, came in near 70,000 square feet and swapped a large community room and dedicated kids’ space for a third gym.

Aquatics facilities, which have increasingly been a topic of conversation among city residents, were another major focus of the meeting.

Melanie Kilpatrick, who serves as executive assistant to the City Manager, noted survey results ranked indoor leisure swimming as the top priority, followed by drop-in play and youth leagues. Consultants recommended at least one body of water with a current channel and lap lanes, with a second pool for competition and programming in the enhanced option.

Council also discussed an elevated walking track, potential for a ninja course above the lap pool and fitness space.

Darin Barr, of Ballard King & Associates, told the council that the recommended 3,000 square feet of weight and cardio space represents only about 5% of the facility’s total area and can be designed to complement, rather than duplicate, private fitness facilities that are already operating in Craig.

“You can control the market that you may attract by the equipment and the square footage of the space you prescribe,” he said before noting that limiting squat racks, bench press machines and free-weight ranges would make the city’s offering a gateway for residents to potentially explore options in private gyms.

City Manager Peter Brixius added that Montrose’s experience showed cardio equipment can help drive memberships while also making a recreation center financially sustainable. As a result, consultants recommended keeping the fitness footprint modest and focusing on a mix of equipment, a strategy that would generate revenue while protecting existing businesses.

Next steps include developing conceptual layouts and operational plans and refining cost estimates for the preferred option. Several members also urged early geotechnical work to avoid construction surprises, which involves examinations of soil and groundwater compositions.

Later in the evening during its general meeting, the Craig City Council approved an alley vacation, clarified funding for a major land purchase, awarded a contract for a citywide pavement study and finalized the notice of election for November’s coordinated election.

The council unanimously approved the first reading of Ordinance 1168, which addresses a decades-old surveying issue at 455 E. Seventh St. that left part of a home, driveway and shed built over city right-of-way near Sherwood Forest.

The council also adopted Resolution No. 27 (2025), which corrected the funding breakdown for the $1.33 million acquisition of the Craig Business Park property outlined in Resolution No. 23 (2025). City Manager Peter Brixius said the resolution clarifies that $1,051,000 comes from Office of Just Transition funds, $280,000 from the 2025 city budget and $69,518 from a previous appropriation.

Public Works Director Danny Paul presented the bid for the city’s Roadmaster Plan, a pavement assessment that will scan and rate Craig’s streets and sidewalks. The $29,050 contract was awarded to MDS Technologies of Illinois.

“For the first time, we will not be doing this in just kind of a subjective way, but it’ll be very objective,” Paul said.

Council approved the notice of coordinated election for Nov. 4, which includes the mayoral race, three council seats, a marijuana sales tax question and a ballot question on forming the Yampa Valley Regional Transportation Authority.

In other business, a proclamation was approved naming Sept. 17-23 as Constitution Week, at the request of the Augusta Wallihan chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Department reports highlighted ongoing water and wastewater projects, golf course flood mitigation design work and a successful cleanup of a drainage channel on First Street. Police Chief Michael Cochran reported a 95% increase in code enforcement calls over the last year, largely due to the addition of a new code enforcement officer mid-year.