Erie Community Center — Local services in Erie

My partner recently purchased an annual membership for the family and it was my first official visit as a member to the community center. There were long lines at the front desk when I arrived to get my photo taken for the ID, but because the facility looked super fun and family friendly, I chalked it up to possible increase in volume due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Myself, my two 5 year old nephews, and my 8 year old niece returned later in the day to use the pool and indoor play area. The kids was really excited to be there and I was the lone adult on this adventure. When entering the locker room I read the posted signs starting individuals over the age of 5 could not be in locker rooms of the opposite gender... No biggie, that's what family locker rooms are for. Kiddos got dressed in swim gear, including those puddle jumper vests for extra safety for my 5 year old nephews, and we were off to have some fun! The fun was quickly quelled when the harsh tone of the atmosphere set in. I was told the kids could not go down the slide with the vests, and all three of them would be subject to swim tests before approval. FUN! The mandatory 10 minute safety time out? I saw lifeguards force kids out of the water, blow their whistles at them, and proceed to sit there and socialize. While we were all floating in the lazy river, I passed the lifeguard as she rudely told me If the boys wore the vests, they must be within arms length at all times. Again, FUN! In the zero depth area, after the fountains had to be turned on at my request, the lifeguard blow the whistle at my family. I could not hear the teenaged life guard reprimanding my 5 year old nephew for climbing up the slide the wrong way over the roar of the fountains. A life guard came out of the office to make the rules clear. No breath holding? None of the kids, including my family, were misbehaving. All the children there demonstrated average kid behavior. I could not wait to get out of there.( I work for the largest healthcare network in Colorado. I understand liability. I understand safety. Don't we as members agree to utilize the facility at our own risk? ) This was the most uncomfortable experience I've had at Recreation/Community center. Thankfully, the children had fun in the 40 minutes we were there. I am extremely thankful they are too young to realize how oppressive and impractical the atmosphere was. I plan on using my membership to utilize the fitness facilities, but I don't expect to bring the kids back. So glad we paid for the ENTIRE family to join. Paul Derda Rec. center and the Apex Center provide an amazing experience for the kids. Erie Community Center should take some...

What should have been a special Day for my one year old’s birthday was ruined by a staff member at the Erie Community Center. For sake of privacy I will only use first initials. We had a fabulous experience with the front staff person A. And the maintenance person P. Huge thank you to both of them for their politeness and excellent customer service!!

Now on to Assistant Coordinator of Guest Service Operations V.D. who should never be in costumer service. She came in the room with an extremely negative attitude about EVERYTHING. We specifically asked the Rec. Center staff on multiple occasions prior to the event what was permitted to be hung on the walls. We took extra precautions and made sure to hang things on metal, plastic or freestanding items that we brought it. She decided to go around and take pictures of everything telling us rules were broken. I asked her to politely leave the room and she told me to not use that language 🧐 She then proceeded to ask us if we would want someone to come to our house and “ruin” it, we told her we took all necessary precautions to respect their property. Throughout the party she was standing in the Kitchen area taking pictures with out my permission with young children present on her personal cell phone( this is NOT ok). After the event we asked to do a walkthrough with V.D. We left the room in PERFECT condition but she still choose to be rude and curt with us. I am a Colorado native and have lived in Erie for 14 years and love to keep business within our wonderful little town. I even am a small business owner in Erie as well. However people like this who are in a “customer service” role are ruining revenue to the City. I was a PAYING repeat customer who did nothing wrong but was treated horribly and “policed” through the event. As a mom or dad I wanted to let you know my personal experience as I hope none of you have to deal with the sheer rudeness and unfortunately I will take my business somewhere else outside Erie. I would happily suggest taking a deposit and if there is damage charge accordingly. Otherwise please don’t harass your customers and “police” them through their special event.

**To not make this a novel I have summed up the events. I am happy to privately give any more details. Also I will be contacting the Recreation Supervisor and Recreation Coordinator to discuss my concerns...

We love the community park and we usually do big BBQ gatherings , but today while we were enjoying our BBQ party 2 unleashed big dogs ran into us and took us by surprise which scared us and the kids!! With no sign of owner in our sight , they kept sniffing around us for few minutes then we finally saw a girl walking towards us from the other side of the big field taking all the time she needs to get to where her dogs were! and apologized then let her dogs run across the field again without leash !! I just want all the dog owners to know that not everyone is ok with dogs unleashed around,some people had experienced bad accidents with dogs and next time your dog runs into people they might not be as friendly as we were today ! I’m not sure about the park policy of unleashed dogs but I don’t think unleashed dogs are allowed in...