The path to excellence - St Charles, Missouri

Parks & Recreation, July, 1994 by David Markey

The City of St. Charles, Missouri, won the "1994 NRPA Excellence in Aquatics Award" for its population class. Many factors contribute to the city program's success, including the involvement of political and administrative organizations, quality management and staffing, creative and well planned facilities, and strong community support. All of these factors played a role in the city's journey to excellence.

You Can Get There from Here

The story of St. Charles is one of a small city with a big dream. The growing town of 55,000 is situated on the Missouri River west of St. Louis. Although not considered to be an exceptionally wealthy community, St. Charles is rich in history and tradition and boasts an average per capita income level significantly higher than the state median.

This family-oriented community's parks department provides its citizens with the finest in recreational programs and parks facilities. The Parks Department has a staff of 24 full-time employees and 180 part-time or seasonal employees. The total annual budget is approximately $2.6 million. The department structure is divided into administration, maintenance, security, and enterprise. The Parks Director serves under a semi-autonomous Parks Board. The nine board members are appointed by the mayor for three-year terms. All contracts and employee procedures follow the City of St. Charles requirements under the administration of the Parks Board.

St. Charles operates 18 parks, including four major community parks covering 400 acres. Blanchette Park, offering 42 acres near the downtown historic district, is a major hub of recreational activities, ball fields, playgrounds, picnic groves, horseshoe pits, a community center, concession stands, open spaces, and gardens. An outdoor pool facility was built in 1937.

McNair Park occupies 98 acres and serves many of the city's newer neighborhoods. This large park features ball fields, exercise trails, a sensory experience trail for the blind, and open spaces, but no pool. A smaller neighborhood park, closer to the town center, contained the city's only other pool facility, the Boonslick Park Pool, constructed in 1976.

From Small-Time to Modern Aquatics

Up until 1992, St. Charles had only the two pools described above. But plans for expansion began in 1984 when it became apparent that the limited facilities would not accommodate the needs of the city's growing population. The Parks Board and staff spent eight years researching and developing plans for aquatic facilities. Board members and staff visited other cities, attended national meetings of various associations, and talked to hundreds of park and recreation officials from across the nation.

In 1988 the department commissioned an engineering assessment of the existing facilities and determined the Blanchette Pool would need to be replaced in the very near future and that Boonslick Park Pool needed upgrading. In 1990, the Park Board formed a Citizens Advisory Committee (made up of citizens, city council, park board, and staff) to assess the city's aquatic needs. This Pool Committee contributed greatly to this project.

The Parks Department also sought input from local youth and adults, plus pool season pass holders. Permission was obtained from the St. Charles School District to survey all of the elementary and junior high school students about their aquatic needs and interests, as members of that age group have been the primary users of the existing facilities and the targeted market for new facilities. A proportionate random survey was conducted for the entire St. Charles population to give residents an opportunity to communicate their aquatic needs. Presentations to special interest groups, civic organizations, and the general public were made to ensure community input.

During fall and winter of 1990-1991, the department completed an in-house marketing/feasibility study which determined that St. Charles could support the identified needs financially. Thus, a proposal was presented to replace the Blanchette Pool with a more modern Family Aquatic Center and construct a new Family Leisure Pool at McNair Park. The city and its Parks Department proceeded to develop the mission, goals, and objectives of the development program based on the results of research, surveys, and assessments. The primary mission was that quality services and facilities that are safe and affordable for everyone would be provided for the citizens. In April 1991 voters approved a bond issue for various parks improvements including $3.2 million for the Blanchette and McNair Aquatic Centers and the Boonslick Park Pool upgrades.

The Design Process

In July of 1991, the Parks Board selected Markey and Associates, Inc., a planning and design firm specializing in water parks and family aquatic centers, to prepare the detailed plans and specifications for the project. The first step was to establish what elements each facility would have, plan the conceptual layout of these components, and verify the budget and schedule against bond issues funds and intentions.