The path to excellence.

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.

Time was short, but the Board and Pool Committee had done their homework. Their years of research were about to pay off. A team from the Pool Committee and several design professionals from Markey and Associates met in a design charette, an intensive brainstorming session in which the project background and parameters were summarized, the site attributes and opportunities analyzed, the program elements listed, the needs and economic factors reviewed, and the goals and objectives of the projects developed. Over 3 to 4 days, for up to 10 or 12 hours per day, a concept evolved that would serve the needs of the community with the most efficient expenditures of funds. It also validated the budgets with a detailed breakdown of projected component costs; and it created a schedule for completing the design and construction. It also created a unified community support structure for the project by involving the diverse community and aquatic interests in the planning process.

Of course, the hopes and dreams of any group are unlimited; and while the charette proved to the Pool Committee that everyone could have more than they anticipated, some items on the long wish list would have to be tabled. But instead of giving up on those ideas, it was decided that many add-alternatives would be included in the design documents. While the base-bid included far more than the bond issue promised, exceptional construction bids or alternative funding sources could offer an opportunity to add these elements. In detailed scheduling exercises, it was determined how it would be possible to complete facility design, receive construction bids, and open the projects by the 1992 season.

The Blanchette Family Aquatic Center was planned to serve the broadest spectrum of community needs. In addition to the neighborhood populations, many large groups and community programs use the surrounding park facilities; and the committee knew that the innovative nature of the aquatic center would create a large regional draw. Everyone involved wanted to maintain an atmosphere that would enhance--not detract from--the historical character of the park and neighborhood. As a result, a colorful neo-Victorian architectural style was planned for the bathhouse and shade structure design. To accommodate the many components desired within a long, narrow site, and to allow several conflicting program uses simultaneously, a three-pool configuration was planned to include a lap pool, kids play pool, and family activity pool, with features such as state-of-the-art water slides, "otter slides," fountains, and geysers.

The McNair Family Aquatic Center was planned to suit a very different site, locale, and market. McNair Park is intended to be more community-than regional-oriented. The site is more open but also more hilly. The architectural character of the area is more modern and residential; and more infrastructure was required to develop the totally new pool site.

Among the design goals was the need to achieve a different "feel" from that of the Blanchette Pools while providing some of the same state-of-the-art elements. The center was to have a more modern architectural context and more of a "neighborhood" ambiance. The added infrastructure needs and the basic support structure facilities made meeting these goals within the smaller budget more difficult. However, several excellent program elements--including lap lanes, lily pad walks, water slides, and kids' play area--were designed and contained within a 10,000-square foot pool.

All of the features were incorporated into a single pool water system. An 800-foot long "Continuous River Float Ride" (sometimes called a lazy river) was designed and bid as an add-alternative but did not fall within the budget and was not constructed. However, it is being considered for addition within the next year or two.

The Boonslick Park Pool was targeted to receive a small kids' play pool, miscellaneous site upgrades, and mechanical system improvements. To enhance the budgets to include as many add-alternates as possible, the board decided to assign several project elements to the Maintenance Division for construction. The entire Boonslick project was one of these. With a complete set of drawings in hand and a close working relation-ship with the engineers at Markey and Associates, the staff performed all of the demolition, grading, piping, concrete work, pumping and other mechanical work, and landscaping detailing.

The Construction Road

During the design charette, a schedule was outlined that required that construction be under way at Blanchette Park within 90 days, with McNair's work following shortly thereafter. To make this happen, an "early award" bid package was prepared for the demolition of the existing Blanchette Pool and bathhouse and for the general site work, utilities, and parking. By December the new fcilities began to take shape on a prepared site. The McNair design proceeded concurrently with the Blanchette final design and bidding. Bids then were received for McNair and construction began in February 1992.

All construction work for the two aquatic centers was performed by local general contractors and their subcontractors. A specific goal of the design was to minimize the use of specialty contractors and materials, while enhancing the bidding environment for local labor and suppliers. Blanchette Aquatic Center was constructed for $1,750,000, including both bid packages and all of the add-alternates. McNair Aquatic Center was built under a construction contract worth $1,300,000. The Parks Department staff installed the trees and plantings at both parks. Blanchette opened by Memorial Day 1992, McNair by July 1992.

The End of the Path

In 1989, the two St. Charles pools drew a total attendance of 25,400. In 1993, the two aquatic centers and the Boonslick Park Pool drew 126,000. The revenues and expenses were:

                      1989            1993
Expenses           $66,000        $291,000
Revenues            55,000         436,000
The staffing increased as follows:
Managers                 4               7
Instructors              6              13
Maintenance              1               5
Volunteers              37              52
Lifeguards              13              68
Cashiers                 2              12
Concessions              2              18
  Total                 65             175

Public response to the parks has been overwhelming. Since opening, Blanchette Aquatic Center has averaged more than 1,300 visitors daily, and close to 600 per day have visited McNair. These figures are far beyond our expectations.

The Parks Department continues to survey the public and make assessments about it its aquatic programs. In fact, based on ongoing assessments, an additional Family Aquatic Center is being proposed for the city's south side; and a continuous river float and water slide may be added at McNair.

If there is a lesson to be learned from St. Charles, it is that commitment and hard work can make big dreams come true even in a smaller city. The city and its Parks Department did not set out to win awards; but the efforts of many dedicated individuals were award-winning indeed.

Additional questions concerning the financial planning and administration of the capital improvements program should be addressed to Mr. Richard Ash, Director of Parks, 1900 West Randolph, St. Charles, MO 63301. Questions concerning the operations and programming of the facilities may be addressed to Ms. Cathy DeDecker, Enterprise Director, at the same address. Questions concerning planning, design, and construction issues may be addressed to Markey and Associates, Inc., P.O. Box 1374, Kennesaw, GA 30144.