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CPC hears Splash Park presentation

Posted March 24, 2015 11:00 pm

By Staff Report The Herald Tribune

CHESTER -- The Chester Pool Committee met in regular session on Tuesday at Chester City Hall and Carbondale Park District Executive Director Kathy Renfro gave an in-depth presentation to the committee on Carbondale's process toward getting its Super Splash Park.

Tentatively scheduled to open on May 23, work on the Splash Park ground to a halt when Gov. Bruce Rauner issued an executive order on March 11, freezing the awarding of park grants and halting the progress of projects still under construction.

No information has been released as to when the freeze would be lifted.

Renfro said the Carbondale Park District (CPKD) still needs $1.2 million to complete the $3.4 million facility. Contractors on the project have estimated 70 days to completion.

"I'm off the job," she said. "I'm totally shut down and it's heartbreaking.

"What we're really waiting for is an answer."

Renfro said she was still optimistic the facility will open in May, and added that she had thought about disobeying the executive order.

"I can't risk the integrity of the park district," she said.

In the meantime, Renfro is encouraging people to write to state and local political leaders to show support in lifting the freeze.

"Our kids all wrote letters to Gov. Rauner and they were adorable," she said.

According to a "Make a Splash for Carbondale: A Case For Support 2014" handout given out by Renfro to the CPC, the CPKD was notified in 2011 that it was a candidate to receive a $2.5 million Park and Recreational Facility Construction (PARC) grant through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

In order to receive the grant, the CPKD had to match at least 25 percent of the project, which came to $625,000.

Renfro said fundraising efforts were increased to $900,000 so the CPKD could include more amenities in the facility's design that the public wanted. A total of $850,000 has been raised thus far.

"The development of my Splash Drop guy has taken me miles," she said, referring to the facility's logo, a blue water drop with legs and wearing a red cape. "All the school kids know him."

With the grant, Renfro said "almost no money" has been spent on the bathhouse, a building she referred to as "nothing fancy."

"It's got three locker rooms, toilets, showers and benches," she said. "It's bare bones. "Everything can be washed down with a fire hose."

Renfro also warned the CPC members about the high cost of electricity for such a facility, especially a 115-day seasonal operation like the Splash Park.

"We've looked into solar panels - I really wanted to do it - but we're not close to knocking down electricity," she said.

The projected cost for an average season of use for the Splash Park is $460,627, with a projected income of $479,355.

That leaves an estimated profit of $18,728, but Renfro also warned against complications with weather and drops in attendance in the second year of operation.

"It really is about marketing," she said. "Your kids are your best sellers. They'll be your harshest critics and your most avid supporters."

Once complete, the CPKD, and its Board of Commissioners, will be the sole owner and operator of the Splash Park, but management is being handled by Midwest Pool Management (MPM).

According to documentation given to the CPC members, MPM is charging a management fee of $51,170 for service between May 23, 2015 and September 7, 2015.

The management fee includes hiring, orientation and supervision of staff, preseason preparation and postseason closing, chemicals, first aid supplies and insurance, among other items.

The agency's salary budget - which includes the salaries for managers, assistant managers, head guards, lifeguards, concession and front desk personnel - for that same time period is not to exceed $165,619.

The management contract is a year-to-year deal, according to Renfro.

"She has probably saved me $10,000 by telling me why some areas (of the lazy river) are curved and some are not," Renfro said of Midwest Pool Management President Bert Ford. "It's about line of sight. Their design and input reduced my guard staff by four."

Created in June 2004, the SPLASH Committee began researching the feasibility of developing an outdoor aquatic facility in Carbondale. In November of that year, public meetings were held so the public could view presentations from three building and design firms.

The SPLASH Committee also surveyed nine other communities with outdoor pools and "studied the process they used to plan, build and operate these facilities."

In April 2005, the SPLASH Committee received approval from the City of Carbondale to update a feasibility study for an outdoor aquatic center that had been completed in 1998. The results of the updated study were released to the public two months later.

"Starting in 2006, we mailed surveys to every household in our district," Renfro said. "We did offer some incentives, like free oil changes, for people to participate."

A total of 8,600 surveys were mailed and 968 were returned. Of that amount, 88.5 percent were in favor of the outdoor facility, with 77 percent indicating the Carbondale Park District should provide it.

Renfro said the facility will have one slide open to start, with the possibility of adding another in the future. She also advised the CPC members that eight lanes are preferable for hosting competitions.

"Eight lanes is what got us the tourism money," she said, referring to a $100,000 donation from the Carbondale Convention and Tourism Bureau.

Finally, Renfro encouraged the CPC members to attend an April 8 presentation by bestselling author Wallace Nichols at SIU's Hiram H. Lesar Law Building in Carbondale.

Nichols will be speaking about the emotional, behavioral, psychological and physical connections people have with water, according to a news release from SIU. His presentation is scheduled for 7 p.m. and there is no cost to attend.

Roundup

The CPC also heard brief reports from both its "Old Pool" and "New Pool" subcommittees during Tuesday's meeting.

CPC Secretary and Chester Recreation Director Patti Carter told the committee Chester Mayor Tom Page has spoken with Harold Schaeffer, of the city's engineering firm, J.T. Blankenship, and was told that the process of finding out the price of converting the Chester Municipal Pool into an amphitheater could begin in 10 days when Schaeffer returns from a trip out of state.

In the meantime, the Old Pool subcommittee is in a bit of a holding pattern.

"We're somewhat at a standstill on the old pool," said Subcommittee Chairwoman Gwendy Garner.

The Old Pool subcommittee also submitted a list to the other CPC members showing potential uses for the amphitheater, including movie nights, concerts, community theater, festivals/bazaars, weddings, family reunions, corporate functions, church outings, graduations, school band/choir/drama productions and a possible site for a future Leaders Breakfast.

In regard to the New Pool Subcommittee, Valerie Blechle suggested changing its focus from pursuing possible facility designs to pursuing funding sources.

The suggestion was made into a motion, which passed unanimously.

The next meeting of the CPC is April 28 at 6 p.m. at Chester City Hall. It is open to the public.

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