Wellington trustees hear broad community support for parks priorities; consultants present a conceptual ~60,000‑sq‑ft community center

Wellington Town trustees and the PROS advisory board spent their joint work session reviewing community engagement results and a community‑center feasibility concept that consultants say could be sized to Wellington’s needs.

The session opened with Parks and Recreation Director Billy Cooksey and project lead Jason Gink of Barry Dunn describing the outreach: "During the engagement phase, we had more than 60,000 touch points with residents, stakeholders, and user groups," Cooksey said, and consultants summarized that the engagement and analysis point to high community interest in a community center, aquatics, multi‑use courts, trails and permanent event infrastructure.

Why it matters: trustees and volunteers said those priorities matter for quality of life and the local economy — residents who leave town to use facilities elsewhere also spend money outside Wellington. Board members repeatedly flagged equity and connectivity, noting that physical barriers (I‑25 and a limited underpass) reduce access from the east side and create an uneven distribution of amenities.

Most important facts: consultants delivered three linked findings. First, engagement and survey results repeatedly listed community centers, pools/aquatics and trail connectivity among top priorities. Second, Wellington’s per‑capita amenity counts generally meet many benchmarks but show uneven geographic distribution and some aging park infrastructure that needs maintenance. Third, the consulting team presented a preliminary feasibility scenario showing a scalable community center footprint (consultants noted roughly a 60,000‑square‑foot center as a conceptual model) with options for phased delivery (gym first, pool phased in later, flexible community rooms).

Trustees and PROS members used the presentation to press for details on siting, partners and operations. Board member Sarah Brown and others said the vision must address how people get to downtown and to central facilities: "Do we have a way to get people here?" Brown asked, emphasizing trail connections and cross‑department coordination. Consultants pointed to nearby comparables — Eaton (in the consultants' examples, roughly 64,000 sq ft) and Berthoud (about 50,000 sq ft) — and said those cases informed a right‑sized, expandable model for Wellington.

Program and access considerations featured throughout the discussion. Multiple speakers noted the town’s event culture and requested physical infrastructure (permanent restrooms, power hookups) to expand family‑friendly programming. Trustees highlighted multigenerational needs: the town is still family‑dominant now but will age, and speakers urged including seniors, teens and adaptive‑recreation program space in any facility planning. Cooksey noted gaps in local adaptive programming that currently require residents to travel to Fort Collins for specialized services.

Concerns and next steps: trustees and staff agreed that feasibility at this stage is conceptual. Consultants emphasized additional steps before any decision: cost estimating, pro forma operating scenarios, identification of likely operators or partners (town, school district, nonprofit, HOA partnerships), and phased implementation tied to funding opportunities and grant competitiveness. Jason Gink asked trustees for prioritized 18‑month implementation goals and reminded the public that the feedback window remains open through project staff.

What happens next: the consultant team will refine cost and operational scenarios and return with recommendations; staff asked the public to submit follow‑up feedback to Billy Cooksey, the project manager. The session concluded with trustees thanking staff, volunteers and the consultant team for the community‑driven process.

Representative quotes from the session include Billy Cooksey’s summary of engagement — "During the engagement phase, we had more than 60,000 touch points with residents, stakeholders, and user groups" — and the consultant’s conceptual scale for a center: "the overall center that we conceptualize is about 60,000 square feet." The board did not take any formal votes at the meeting; next steps are additional analysis and public feedback.