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FEATURE ARTICLE
Public Preparedness- Why do some communities successfully build public recreation facilities, while others seem to struggle? The key is to have a clear vision of the project and build community support well before the first hole is dug. BY CHARLES BALLING, CPRP
Public park and recreation facilities have become big business, and communities across Illinois are responding to citizens' requests for improved services and facilities. Before your park district starts up a new fitness center, swimming pool, recreation center, ice arena, etc., you must be aware of the potential pitfalls. These can include the lack of a plan or vision, inadequate financial resources for capital and start-up, an incorrect reading of the market, an unrealistic construction schedule and the lack of a nonperformance penalty, and the inability to communicate to your various publics. The following steps can help a project stay healthy and fit — and headed for success. Know Your Mission and Set Your Objectives The first step in any project is developing a mission statement that tells people in simple terms what your new facility is all about. The Gurnee Park District, with cooperative funding from the Village of Gurnee and a State of Illinois grant, recently built the Hunt Club Park Aquatic Center. The new center's mission statement is "focused on offering a fun, high quality and safe swimming experience backed by professional certified employees. Team members are committed to fostering a positive mindset and flexible attitudes to best serve each customer's needs. Programs will be developed around the community's needs and desires." Right from the start, the board and a citizens' committee developed a list of seven operational and programmatic objectives for the new facility, as well as twelve design objectives that dealt with everything from making sure the facility was ADA accessible to creating a safe environment with clear lines of sight from the manager's office. You should also develop strategic service segments that clearly define your focus. Prioritizing your strategic service segments prior to developing a facility will help you select those components that are most important. At the Hunt Club Park Aquatic Center, we focused on the recreational aspect of swimming rather than competitive swimming. We incorporated seven slides, a waterfall, sand play, a spray ground and much more into the project and nine hours of daily open recreational swim time seven days a week. Your objectives can also help you define your programming focus. Fitness centers and aquatic centers depend July/August 2003 | 15 PUBLIC PREPPAREDNESS - BUILDING FOR SUCCESS highly on membership sales. There are many ways to set up a membership program. Special offerings targeted towards usage patterns, or to singles, couples, families, senior citizens, community residents, non-residents or corporations are common. The Gurnee Park District Board set season pass/pricing policies for the new outdoor aquatic center approximately six months before the facility opened. The board ensured that fees were enough to cover direct and indirect expenses, as well as a reserve fund for emergencies and improvements. Develop a Feasibility Study A feasibility study should include background on the project, current trends, an analysis of similar facilities, needs assessments and surveys, a market attractiveness and business position analysis, mission statements, objectives, activity schedules, staffing plan, financial pro formas and an executive summary with specific recommendations. If there is a similar facility within your market, thoroughly review the pros and cons of a park district or public recreation department competing with a private provider. Finally, be sure you plan a facility that considers what people want in the future. Before you start, tour similar facilities and look for trends in design, space utilization and equipment. Successful facilities consistently incorporate state-of-the-art equipment selected with the user in mind, and renewable spaces that can be adapted or expanded to the quickly changing marketplace.
Organize Teams, Involve Citizen Advisory Committees, and Feedback The success of your project depends on the interaction of many different types of people during a relatively short period of time. The major component of the success of the Hunt Club Aquatic Center was the collective contributions of the park board, village board and their respective staff members. The park district "ATMs" (Aquatic Team Meetings) were key to bringing together concepts and ideas and turning them into reality. You may want to consider one project coordinator from your organization who directs teams in the area of finance, design, construction, marketing, pass sales, start-up operations and staffing. The project coordinator must have a clear vision of the project and a real commitment to quality and must be able to bring out the entrepreneurial talents in others. All team members should be given the opportunity to contribute specific tasks and be held to mutually agreed-upon schedules. Remember, if you are the project co-ordinator, the buck stops with you. Make people responsible for deadlines and realize the success or failure of the project is in your hands. To keep the project moving, develop a month-by-month schedule outlining specific tasks and assign responsibilities with completion dates. The team should meet on a weekly basis approximately a year before the facility will open. The days of developing a facility based only on input from the staff and the architect are over. The more the user is involved from the preliminary reviews up until the final opening and operation of the facility, the greater the chance of success for your new building. Involving citizen advisory committees with the planning, construction and start-up of a facility allows potential users and citizens to take personal pride in the project. Many people will be surprised to be given the opportunity for input, and soliciting feedback will help build your credibility. Your organization should be proactive in getting users' feedback rather than being reactive. The following steps will help build support for a project: 1. Send notices to newspapers, potential users and community groups asking for help and feedback on your project. 2. Have interested individuals fill out an application stating why they want to serve on the committee. 3. Select 5 to 15 qualified people to serve. Balance the committee with people who have varied interests. Key staff and board members should also serve on the committee. 4. Hold meetings as necessary. Have an agenda to keep the meetings on track. When developing a new facility, common agenda items might include rating of important components to include in the facility, the amount of 16 | Illinois Parks and Recreation PUBLIC PREPPAREDNESS - BUILDING FOR SUCCESS space being allocated to each component, traffic flow, selection of finishes, scheduling, and the naming of the building. Advisory committee members can be helpful in providing feedback on the type of programs and services that will be offered and in setting priorities for space allocation. Be aware, however, that some advisory committee members can be self-serving. Watch out for the person who tries to dominate the group and is only interested in his or her own special interest. A seasoned meeting facilitator can always keep the group on task and build teamwork throughout the entire process. Public meetings can also generate community support and build trust for your project. Updates can be held at various stages to review the results of the feasibility study and your final drawings. Make sure the meetings are well publicized throughout the community. Comments from citizens and groups should be noted, and a formal process of responding to concerns should be used during the hearings. If your village requires you to have public hearings on your new facility, be prepared for people to take pot shots at your project. Respond to any comments in a professional manner. Do not burn any bridges. Another great way of getting feedback is doing a random sample survey of the community. A random sample of 5 percent of the community should do. Special interest groups such as swimmers, aerobic dancers, soccer players, basketball players, are also excellent groups to survey, depending on the facility you plan to open. Plan Your Facility Now that a mission has been developed and adequate feedback on the project has been received from potential users, it is easier to determine the size of the building and its components. The Gurnee Park District used the National Recreation & Park Association standard for developing its 1,500-bather load outdoor aquatic center. (The standard told us to base the bather load on 5 percent of the service population of 30,000, if no other outdoor pool exists.) Remember to develop a laundry list of each component with the estimated square footage required. Don't forget storage, hallways and public areas. You might be surprised how much square footage these areas demand. Once you have established the desired components, use your advisory committee to help prioritize each component. This is necessary because there always seems to be more need for space than there is money. This prioritized list is critical in giving direction to your architect in the allocation of building space. But, keep in mind that a certain amount of space should be allocated for multi-use purposes, and plan renewable-use areas that will meet changing needs. Also make sure all handicapped requirements are being met. Hire the Best Builders Take time to hire the best architects, contractors and consultants with experience in athletic and recreation business. Locker rooms, pools, aerobics or dance studios and other state-of-the art facility areas all have special design and construction criteria and should be done correctly from the start if a project is to be successful both in the short-and long-term. Beware of the architect or consultant who tells you that the facility can be built well below the per-square-foot cost of new construction in your area-a ploy that may be designed just to get your business. Don't take shortcuts that will save you money in the short run but cost you once the building is operational. Spend the necessary money up front to ensure long lasting quality.
July /August 2003 | 17 PUBLIC PREPPAREDNESS - BUILDING FOR SUCCESS Watch Your Budget Make sure your dollars keep up with your dreams. A critical item is to total up the estimated square footage for the entire building or project and determine what the current cost for construction will be. For example, if an agency is building a new community center with locker rooms and a lap pool and there is approximately 50,000 square feet of space with an estimated construction cost of $125 per square foot, you should estimate a cost of $6,250,000 for the project. A professional estimator can be contracted to provide you with solid costs once the architect completes the design phase. Make sure your initial cost estimate is on the high side, since some projects are canceled because of unrealistic estimates that later come back to haunt the people who made them. Be sure to consider architect, consultant and attorney fees, as well as bond fees, equipment costs and permit fees. Then, add an adequate construction contingency of 7 to 10 percent of the total project cost so cost overruns don't kill the project. Consider setting aside 25 percent of your equipment money and spending it after the facility opens. You'll be amazed at the suggestions for additional equipment that will come from users and staff. Finally, and most importantly, if you plan on supporting the facility with user fees, make sure you know your market and how much revenue you can generate. The Gurnee Park District was fortunate to have over 23 percent of the community buy season passes for the new Hunt Club Park Aquatic Center. If you are building a new fitness center however, you may only attract 5 to 10 percent of the community and you will be considered to be doing well. Set Realistic Completion Dates You can almost plan on having plenty of construction-related problems. Therefore, add at least three months to your completion schedule and consider having penalty clauses built into contracts for nonperformance and bonuses for work that is completed early. Remember, every project will have change orders and setbacks. But, projects that begin with a clear mission and set of goals; that seek community involvement through a teamwork approach; that are well-planned, well-designed and well-budgeted overcome these obstacles and provide years of use for their communities.
CHARLES BALLING
18 | Illinois Parks and Recreation |
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