For 14 years, kids set sail on Westminster’s Standley Lake through a program run by Community Sailing of Colorado. This summer those kids could be left high and dry.
The summer sailing program was set adrift when the city of Westminster denied the group permission to use Standley Lake.
“We’re still kind of mystified, really,” said Community Sailing’s interim executive director, Deb Gravelle, who hopes the city will reconsider.
The group says the city told them that it had changed its city codes and would no longer allow any sort of commerce at the lake, including commercial nonprofits such as Community Sailing.
Westminster’s assistant city manager, Steve Smithers, said in a message that he had few details, but that the city has been working with Community Sailing for some time on issues involving the group’s operation at the lake.
Hundreds of children ages 8 to 17 from a variety of backgrounds have learned to ride the water each year at Standley Lake and Cherry Creek Reservoir.
The Cherry Creek program will continue.
Community Sailing offers scholarships and sliding-scale fees for children who want to participate but can’t afford it, she said, and they host several sailing days for kids with special needs.
“We get kids from all walks of life,” Gravelle said.
The Standley Lake program offered both week-long, learn- to-sail summer programs and drop-in opportunities for experienced young sailors.
Mark Pauly taught sailing on the lake for the last six seasons.
“It’s a huge loss for a lot of people,” Pauly said.
He saw a dozen kids a day at Standley Lake, some charting a course for their younger siblings. It was a program that taught kids more than how to run a boat.
“When the wind comes up, you have to rely on yourself to handle the weather and the water,” Pauly said, which builds confidence and teaches youngsters to overcome their fears.
Meredith Eddy agrees. Her 13-year-old son, Zane, sailed on Standley Lake for the past two years. The Louisville resident praised the quality of the staff, the character building they encourage and the sense of community offered by the program.
The long drive to Cherry Creek will likely nix that option for the Eddys.
Zane liked the program because while on the boat, his worries slipped away with the wind. He wants Westminster to reconsider too.
“If I don’t get to sail, I’m going to be in one of those camps where you make macaroni necklaces.”
Heather McWilliams: 303-954-1698 or hmcwilliams@denverpost.com
