A Gold Medal Award is great, but what the hard working staff at Schaumburg Park District really needed was more space.

According to Schaumburg Director Jerry Handlon: "It was our people that made the difference for the award." Well, all their hard work is finally being repaid. Not just through the recognition they received from the National Sporting Goods Foundation and the National Recreation & Parks Association for being the most outstanding park district in the nation administratively, but with the reward of a hard-earned administration building. After years of "placing this on the back burner," the Schaumburg Park District is finally getting "some space."

It's no accident that the Schaumburg Park District administration building is being started just in time to relieve un-due staff crowding. It is all part of a plan worked out by the park district to keep one step ahead of the growth cycle and up-to-date with expanding needs. According to Handlon, "We try to keep on top of growth trends in an attempt to eliminate the problem of too much demand and not enough supply. Our goal is to reach an equilibrium where our supply meets the demand." With the recent suburban population booms and a limited budget, this is no easy task.

The growth cycle . . .

In the early stages of a park district's development, facilities for park district staff are often placed on the back burner. The problem is that a young park district must often play "catch up" with community demand. Therefore the first priority is always the needs of the community. As funds become available, community programs are expanded. The first building projects are usually a gymnasium or a recreational facility. Staff needs are placed on hold until community needs have been met or lack of staff space is hindering further expansion of programming. Eventually, it becomes obvious that facilities for the expanding staff will need to be added to keep the "supply" equal to the demand of the community.

Inefficiency, low employee moral and, in the long run, a decline in the quality of service offered the community are all negative results of cramped staff quarters. With an increase in staff facilities, the growth cycle can continue. The increase in employee moral leads to better servicing of the community. This in turn generates greater community interest, support and produces further growth. This cycle continues as long as the community continues to expand and demand more programming.

The five year plan . . .

For Jerry Handlon, the need for more office space for Schaumburg's quickly expanding park district came as no surprise. With the help of his staff and Board, he has created a plan for smooth and continued growth.

Each year the Schaumburg Park District creates a five year plan. According to Jerry. "We set aside a day every year to gather the different departments and the Board together. During the course of the day, we go through and create a five year plan for each department — the

plan includes expected growth, new programming needs, new facility needs, etc. In this manner, we can detect growth trends and plan for them."

When they began this practice, the administration building was placed at the end of the plan behind such projects as the nature center and the pool facility. "I was hoping it would get pushed up, but the park district had other priorities," Jerry said. Eventually the project did work its way up on the plan. Finally, after five years, a new administration building began to take shape.

The Schaumburg design . . . the reward

In the summer of 1988, Handlon presented Ted Sente, of Sente & Rubel Ltd. architects, with a problem: design a 10,000 square foot office building that fits in with the surrounding residential community. This was no easy task. As Sente explained: "The average residential home in the area was no more than 2,000 square feet. I had to find a way to make this comparably large office look at home." Sente did just that. He began with a warm masonry exterior and enough windows to create a spacious feeling of unity between the indoor and outdoor park activities. Then he gave the building a homey image by breaking it up into 3 floors — 10,000 square feet divided into two floors and a 6,000 square foot basement. Of course, handicapped accommodations were incorporated; a barrier-free design and an elevator were added for their convenience.

The next problem to tackle was to design a layout that maximized office efficiency. After some in-depth analysis, Sente came up with a layout that was designed exclusively to meet the needs of the Schaumburg staff. The result is a building that will not only inspire the pride of the staff but also the continued growth of an exemplary park district.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Julie Timm was the Marketing Coordinator for Sente & Rubel Ltd. of Northbrook, Illinois. The architectural firm is currently working on various projects with Schaumburg, Oregon, Bensenville and Morton Grove, Illinois Park Districts. Their address is: 1955 Raymond Drive, Northbrook, IL. Telephone (312) 272-9500.