OREGON PARK DISTRICTS NASH REC CENTER GETS ANOTHER BUILDING ADDITION AND GOES ELECTRIC

By Carol Sente

How is it that a small rural town of 3,800 has a park district with a recent assessed valuation of over $500 million? Well, to their neighbors, the Oregon Park District in Oregon, Illinois is known as the lucky park district, because they have the Commonwealth Edison Byron Nuclear Power Plant within their district. Commonwealth Edison contributes approximately 90% of Oregon Park District's total tax base, equallying $1 million annually.

These funds have allowed the park district to add a second addition onto their Ruby Nash Recreation Center and administrative offices, as well as a more extreme change of converting their entire building's cooling system to electric energy using ice storage.

"Engineers and architects have been using a relatively new cooling system utilizing ice storage successfully in many types and sizes of buildings", states Mr. Ted Sente, the project's architect. "The State of Illinois building in the Chicago Loop has an ice storage system to cool the building. The system is creative and works great. Experts agree that the problem in the case of the State of Illinois building, was that when changes were made in the building's design, the necessary changes were not compensated for in the cooling system. Those design changes required a re-evaluation of the cooling capacity that was not realized."

An ice storage system becomes an energy efficient alternative for a park district to cool their building, because the system uses electric chillers to generate ice during the night hours, when the electric rates are low. During the day, the ice is used to air condition the building by circulating the cooled air by means of the ventilation system.

Fisal Hammouda of Bilal Engineering, the mechanical/electrical engineer working with Mr. Sente explains, "The chillers

NASH RECREATION CENTER OREGON PARK DISTRICT

generate a great deal of heat while making the ice. Normally, this heat is exhausted to the atmosphere. In our design, the heat is reclaimed and used to heat the park district's indoor pool water and domestic hot water system"

At Oregon, the park district was faced with an entire Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system that was inefficient and 40 years old. They had coal boilers that had been converted to natural gas. "Since the park district opened, after the 1985 addition, we have spent $20,000 to maintain and repair the current system," says Mr. Jim Grove, park district director. New HVAC equipment, a new EPDM single-ply roofing system, new double-pane windows and increased insulation were all part of this project to make the Nash Recreation Center a more energy efficient building.

Mr. Sente explained, "Usually when we work with park district clients, the Board of Commissioners are looking for a short payback (3 to 4 years) when altering any system requiring energy. And acceptance of a protect is based on the payback number. In this project, the Oregon Park District had the luxury of not placing as much emphasis on a short term payback because the entire building addition, energy conversion and related remodeling work, equaling approximately $2.9 million cost of construction, technically could be paid off in three years. Remember, he stated, in three years, the park district receives $3 million in taxes from ComEd." The conversion to electric and the remodeling of the HVAC system will save the park district up to 30% of their annual energy costs from the old gas system.

The requirements of this new cooling system will be to create a comfortable environment for a 50,000 square foot facility. Mr. Grove explained that only 10,000 s.f. of the Nash Center is left from the original school that they purchased in November 1982. The previous grade school originally had portions of the building that were as old as 1896, with school additions put on in 1913 and 1949. The 10,000 s.f. comes from the '49 school addition. The rest of the original

building was demolished after the park district's first addition began in 1984.

The first addition gave the park district an indoor swimming pool, a whirlpool, an elevated snack area and lounge, two racquetball courts, a multipurpose room and new locker rooms. This addition added 20,000 s.f. to the building.

Two years later, the park district staff and board began discussions about a second addition stated, Mr. Tom Corcoran, Board President. "We were having scheduling problems in our gymnasium with users' interests conflicting. People wanted to use the gym for open play to shoot baskets, for basketball and volleyball leagues, for running/jogging, and for martial arts. We ran out of space and time slots to fit all their requirements in one gym. We also didn't have enough multi-purpose space."

In mid-1988, the decision to proceed with a second building addition formally commenced with an architectural firm interview and selection process. The Northbrook firm of Sente & Rubel Ltd. architects was retained. Their responsibility was to design an addition that doubled the size of our gymnasium, and add a new multi-activity sports room and exercise equipment room.

The multi-activity sports room has a banked jogging track around the outside of the room. The track is approximately 17.5 laps per mile. The room will be used for martial arts, jogging, and various other activities. The room will also have an area designated for a golf practice cage. In considering the activities taking place in the room, a ProGym sports flooring system was selected.

As far as remodeled spaces, an existing, unused gymnasium stage was converted into one multi-purpose room used for meetings and passive programs. With the creation of a new exercise equipment room, the existing exercise room was converted into a second multipurpose room and kitchen.

The original budget for the project was $1.7 million. The board then decided that the entire building's HVAC system should be redesigned and the energy system converted to electric. Asbestos abatement was also added. All these project additions increased the budget to the final $2.9 million.

The project was bid and constructed in two phases to speed up the construction time. "The project design began in August 1988, four months later the contractor started pouring the building's foundations before the upper level of the building was completely designed. This phase procedure is known in the construction industry as a 'fast track' method" explains Mr. Sente.

The park district wanted to construct the project using construction management, with the park district acting as the construction manager. They advertised, interviewed and hired a construction superintendent to be their eyes and ears on the job on a daily basis. The superintendent, Mr. Russ Tetrick, is a semi-retired local resident. Mr. Sente states, "Russ was a wonderful choice for the park district. He is a gentleman that has been in the construction field all his life, lives in the vicinity, and has a great deal of personal pride in his performance on this job. He is making sure that the park district is getting every nail and every brick."

Ideally, with a construction manager, the project could be bid by dividing up the work into the major trades, concrete, masonry, mechanical, electrical, etc. The park district would coordinate the work, and save the added percentage mark-up of a general contractor, who for this mark-up normally coordinates the work. However, in Oregon, the tradesmen and subcontracting firms were not familiar with the construction management method and were wary to bid the job. Therefore, the project needed a general contractor as well.

Mr. Groves realized "The park district still saved considerable money by hiring Russ Tetrick as our superintendent, but contractors were just not familiar enough with construction management. The park district ended up making five separate contracts; one each with the general, HVAC, plumbing, sprinkler and electrical contractors." The general contractor that was the low bidder for Phase I was not the successful low bidder for Phase II.

Currently the project is in Phase II, which began in April 1989. The anticipated completion date is March 1990. Oregon, Illinois is located 80 miles due west of Chicago, 25 miles south of Rockford.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Carol Sente is the marketing director of Sente & Rubel, Ltd. The architectural firm is currently working on various projects with Schaumburg, Arlington Heights and Palatine Park Districts.

Ruby Nash Recreation Center in Oregon, Illinois has gone back to electric heating and cooling.

WANTED: DIRECTOR PARKS AND RECREATION

By Gerald M. Oakes
Director of Parks and Recreation for the
Arlington Heights Park District

DIRECTOR PARKS AND RECREATION: Wanted person with restaurant management experience to administer large multi-faceted park and recreation agency.

DIRECTOR PARKS AND RECREATION: Wanted person with knowledge of computer programming to direct progressive, rapidly growing park and recreation agency.

Over the past years statements like those above have appeared in the job bulletin under listings for Director of Parks and Recreation. What education and experience should a director have? What does a director do? What should a park board look for when hiring a director?

Listings like those shown above generally speak more to the problems that an agency has, rather than to the proper qualifications for a chief executive officer. Chances are food service is a thorn in the side of the board and another board feels that a computer will solve its problems. Hire the person with restaurant experience and the agency may have a fine restaurant, but what about the quality of the grass in the parks or the content of the recreation programs?

Graduates of college park and recreation curriculums come the closest to matching up with all the diverse components of a park and recreation agency. Sure, persons from other disciplines have and will continue to be successful as directors, but the odds for success favor someone with an educational and philosophical course of study especially designed for the job.

Think about the broad range of educational disciplines involved in the operation of a park and recreation agency. Should a director have a degree in horticulture, forestry, landscape design, accounting, management, marketing, public relations, architecture, engineering, public administration, physical education, and visual performing arts? The answer is YES, YES, YES!! The practical reality is that no one would be qualified for the job.

So how do we solve the dilemma? A degree in parks and recreation, offers the best academic preparation for addressing many of the needs of a park and recreation agency, but there is still a missing ingredient.

What does a director do? A park and recreation director creates a climate or environment for success and produces a multitude of quality leisure products which meets the needs of the community.

A good director must be able to understand the needs of the community and offer a plan to meet those needs. He or she must determine the correct mix of land, facilities, programs, and dollars to provide for today's leisure. In addition, a good director plans ahead for tomorrow's opportunities which requires use of professional knowledge and an intimate understanding of community dynamics. The director must represent the interests of the community to the park board.

The director must understand the elective process and be able to unify an elected board of park commissioners to an agreed plan of action. He or she must sense the needs of the board members, individually and collectively, and set a direction to meet those needs. The director must inform and educate the board, and listen to and be educated by the board. He or she must offer alternative means to solve problems and be willing to accept the course of action approved by the majority. The director must represent the position of the board to the staff and the community.

The director must hire, or cause to be hired, the best staff available to accomplish the many diverse tasks of the park district. Staff should be representative of many disciplines necessary to conduct the business of a park and recreation agency. Technical skills are not enough, the director must motivate the staff by showing pride in them and encouraging them to work to their potential. Staff must feel a bonding with each other and a sense of pride in the agency and community. The director must represent the interests of the staff to the board.

So, then, what makes a good park and recreation director? Is the good director a boss, coach, cheerleader, friend, dictator-YES, YES, YES !! Every few years a new management style comes into vogue, so that can't be the whole answer. Maybe a good director uses management by objectives, or zero based budgeting, or quality circles and that is the key to success—maybe, but not necessarily.

Is experience as a recreation supervisor, park foreman, or possibly recreation or park superintendent helpful— YES, very helpful but . . . then would the best candidate be the director of a smaller agency or a middle management person from a larger agency . . . maybe!

A park board should be looking for education and experience, but most of all they should be looking for a LEADER. Yes a LEADER . . . the one ingredient that separates OUTSTANDING from SATISFACTORY . . . GREAT from GOOD and a WINNER from all the rest.

A LEADER has the ability to assess the community, board, and staff and set a common direction. A LEADER understands the chemistry necessary to make an organization successful. Probably most important a LEADER has the ability to understand his or her own strengths and weaknesses and develops an appropriate leadership style which maximizes his or her effectiveness to the organization.

Don't be misled into thinking that leaders come in only one style. Good leaders come in all styles. It's the park board's responsibility to select the candidate that best suits the needs of the agency.

There are no guarantees. Education and job experience are important and helpful to narrow the field of candidates, but don't stop there. Your looking for a LEADER.

DIRECTOR PARKS AND RECREATION: Wanted a person with a degree in park and recreation administration, who has a demonstrated record of successful professional leadership responsibility in a progressive park and recreation agency.

EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONNEL WITH HEIGHT ISSUES

By Robert A. Porter, Lemont Park District

The Lemont Park District in 1989 hired a new full-time maintenance employee. The significance of this employee is that he is 54 inches tall. Lemont, as most park districts has a policy of non-discrimination in its hiring practices. The hiring of a dwarf as an employee did force the district to start re-evaluating its facilities and equipment designs due to discriminational heights set by standards. The district has gained an enrichment of sensitivity to the needs of people with dwarfism.

The employee, Rich Dominick, was hired due to his past experience as a previous maintenance laborer with a large private company. Physical changes were required in equipment and building fixtures to enhance his performance in his job. Most of these changes or modifications were simple and not very expensive to incorporate. Some of the changes were constructing raised walk boards to allow access to work benches; purchasing two step platform ladders to allow access to storage and tool cabinets; wall phones were lowered; wooden blocks were created to allow his use of certain trucks, triplex mowers, and ballfield groomers; a special seat was obtained to allow for visibility in certain vehicles; hand mowers and snow thrower handles were adjusted for height reach; and storage areas were re-adjusted.

The process for making these changes came out of staff meetings. The overall objective was to make the district equipment and facilities accessible for his job performance while not impairing other employees' use of the same items. Rich, himself, was a knowledgeable source of information when it came time for making alteration in equipment. Modification changes were discussed in length concerning access, safety issues, insurance review, building code interpretation, and use by all employees with the changes considered. Changes were made with major concerns of not restricting normal height employees from using any of the modified changes in their own task assignments.

As the changes or modification process started, the district became more aware of height discrimination through building code standards, elevations of fire extinguishers, phones, light switches, garage door opener switches, counter heights, and storage locations. Rich's use of the district's facilities also brought to light the use of facilities by children who would have the same height restriction. The park board and staff have gained a much better experience by going through this process of review.

Rich's duties are no different than any other maintenance employee. He has not been given any special treatment after equipment modifications were made as necessary for him to perform the tasks assigned. He is assigned to make all vehicle oil changes, hand mowing tasks, snowthrower duties, small motor repairs, electrical and carpentry assignments, and the classic of all park maintenance tasks — "it doesn't work, fix it." He was assigned to install playground equipment. He worked side by side with the rest of the crew slinging 250 tons of pea gravel for soft surface material under new playgrounds.

The employment of a dwarf appears on the surface to be of no great concern. In Lemont's case it was not a major roadblock because of open thought and concerns of a worker's rights. It should be an issue for each agency to review its own possible non-intentional discrimination to short height people.

FACILITY DOWN TIME: USE IT OR LOSE IT

Sara Hensley, Director of Recreation
Champaign Park District

Do you have times when your buildings or facilities are empty? This down time can be a drain of finances and staff morale and it certainly presents a poor public image.

Facility down time can best be described as programmable areas in a building not utilized to the maximum potential. Realistically, if a recreation facility is empty during hours of operation, we are not effectively programming to the best of our abilities.

It would be easy to place the blame on poor economic times, budget-belt tightening or the competition, but the truth about and responsibility for facility down time rests on the creativity of the recreation professional. While a department may experience cost containment measures, inexperienced programming staff and/or lack of staff, other organizations are desperate for space. These organizations may be willing to negotiate a fee, trade-off a service that would benefit the facility, or offer a percentage of the program cost for purchase of needed supplies and equipment. Don't stop at the first obstacle you encounter!! Your first attempt in the process to arrange a cooperative venture may not bring the ideal results. Investigate other alternatives. For example, is there a group or individual who could teach a class, workshop and/or seminar for participants that frequent the facility? Does the organization promote their activities in a handout or brochure form? If so, how about allowing your facility or park district to advertise the facilities, classes and programs in exchange for use of the building space. Just think about all the agencies in your area where a "trade-off cooperative partnership program would work and both organizations would walk away as winners!

Here are a few other ideas:

I. Agencies as Potential Partners:
*(Remember it needs to be mutually beneficial)

1. Hospital wellness programs

2. Area college programs

3. School Districts

4. Clubs/Organizations

5. Volunteers (students, seniors, community groups)

6. YMCA, YWCA, Boys/Girls Clubs

7. Disabled Services

8. Museums

9. Business groups: Ambucs, Kiwanis, Rotary groups

II. Be open to Non-Traditional (NonTerritorial) Activities and Ideas:

1. Rentals: Allow groups to rent facilities

2. Contract Areas: Concessions, Boat House, Maintenance

3. Businesses/Corporations

4. City and County Departments

5. Retail Operations

6. Privately owned programs (Dance companies, Karate programs and Exercise activities).

III. Change Your Concept or Focus:

1. Staffing patterns (Contract vs. Employee Status)

2. Co-sponsorships

3. Work with the "so-called" competition on a common goal or program.

4. Share success with other areas (as a result of creative utilization of facilities, there are revenues that can be shared with low economic areas, thus they share in your success!)

There is no one cure for facility down time: that's the exciting part! Let your imagination wander, and see what creative resources surround you!