Glenwood Springs fitness instructor asks city why permit to hold classes in park was denied

Policy that dictates what for-profit actions must be formally sanctioned inside Glenwood Springs parks is being reviewed by metropolis workers and can doubtless come earlier than the town council for closing approval later this summer time.

The equity of the coverage was questioned throughout Thursday night time’s metropolis council assembly, after T-R-I Valley Training proprietor and health teacher Sharma Phillips spoke in the course of the public remark interval to ask the council’s permission to carry health courses in a metropolis park for pay.

Phillips moved the health courses outside to supply a secure place for sophistication members to maintain their our bodies and minds energetic in the course of the pandemic.



Prior to that, Phillips provided digital courses.

After promoting her in-person courses within the park, Phillips stated the Glenwood Springs Community Center notified her that she’d want a allow to function her enterprise within the park.



Her allow was denied by the town, which the City Attorney Karl Hanlon stated was as a result of Phillip’s plan to carry greater than three for-profit occasions in a single 12 months on the park.

Three is the variety of allowable occasions a for revenue enterprise can conduct in a public park, per metropolis coverage.

“They advised me if I labored for them I’d be capable to maintain courses within the park, as long as I used to be doing it for the town, however I couldn’t do it for myself to generate profits,” Phillips stated.

Phillips costs $10 for drop-ins to attend a course, or $25 to attend one of many programs 4 occasions monthly. Four programs are provided, in accordance with Phillip’s Facebook web page for T-R-I Valley Training. To attend all 4 programs in the course of the month, Phillips costs a $50 price.

Phillips has since moved her programs to non-public property, she stated.

Since then, Phillips stated she was contacted by a detective with the Glenwood Springs Police Department who questioned her as if she had dedicated against the law.

“I’ve not situated something in municipal code as to why I wasn’t capable of conduct my health class within the metropolis park,” Phillips stated.

While the town manages companies permitted to conduct such enterprise inside metropolis parks, it’s regulated by metropolis coverage quite than code, stated Debra Figueroa.

“We don’t know all the pieces that goes, however we don’t enable for revenue companies to run personal companies in our parks,” Figueroa stated. “If we did, all our parks could be commercialized.”

Figueroa stated cities usually don’t enable plenty of commercialization in parks.

Mayor Jonathan Godes stated that when he served because the Aspen recreation exercise director, there was a income share between the town and personal companies.

“So, if a personal enterprise needed to do one thing, it was a partnership with the town,” Godes stated. “It can exist, from my understanding it doesn’t exist now however we may have one thing to return earlier than us shortly.”

Councilor Shelly Kaup stated she want to see the coverage resolution come earlier than council.

“I want to see using our parks optimized for the use or our public,” Kaup stated. “I do perceive what (Figueroa) is saying concerning the commercialization of our park, however I do suppose there are some issues that lend themselves to the great of the general public, comparable to train teams within the early morning hours once they aren’t too busy with folks utilizing the park.”

Hanlon and the town’s parks and recreation director, Brian Smith, are reviewing the coverage and can current their suggestions for adjustments to the town in June.

Reporter Shannon Marvel will be reached at 605-350-8355 or [email protected].

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