Dream Big, Then Return To Reality
Managing the planning process for a successful aquatic facility
By Alaina Brandenburger
Photos: Aquatics Design Group
For most public-sector agencies, building an aquatic center or multi-purpose facility with aquatic components is a rare undertaking. These centers are often some of the most popular and well-used by the community, but they are neither easy nor inexpensive to build and operate.
Do You Need A Center?
Before beginning any planning, public-sector agency leaders need to ensure there is a need for an aquatic facility. Tom Diehl, MS, CPRP, Principal of GreenPlay, LLC, and Justin Caron, MBA, Principal and CEO of Aquatic Design Group, gathered recently to discuss how this can be determined.
Diehl advises there are a number of ways to start. “Employees and leadership of an organization may notice that people are asking for an aquatic facility. Emerging trends in recreation may include different aquatic amenities, or a neighboring community may have opened an aquatic facility. The need can also become apparent when new agency leaders have done their assessment and have realized that’s one of the missing pieces.”
Your Dream Facility Starts With A Clear Goal
Before rushing into the design process, planning must be done to identify what is realistic. Says Caron, “Every community has its own needs, desires, constraints, and concerns, so when we’re talking about the bigger picture of planning for an aquatic center and how to take something from dream to reality, the first step is self-awareness and a recognition of the goals for this process. Where do we want to go, and what is going to make this project successful? The answer could be that we don’t know. If we don’t ask ourselves those kind of deep questions at the start, the process is going to be muddled. The most important role of a parks and recreation professional at the start of the process is to have a clear goal.”
Both Diehl and Caron acknowledge that a needs-assessment and feasibility study must be undertaken. Diel recommends a thorough process that will ultimately increase the chances of successfully building the facility. “The first step would be doing a needs-assessment to confirm the wants and desires of community members. The second phase would be to do a feasibility study to determine if what people have asked for is feasible in available land for the facility, budget building a facility, and what it is going to cost to operate it.”
Managing The Expectations Of The Community
Once the initial study has been completed and agency leadership has a clear idea of the desired amenities, the potential site, and the estimated cost of building and operating a facility, then comes the design phase. This can be the most fun for leadership and the people, because in the initial part of the process, anything is possible. However, Caron cautions leaders to manage people’s expectations. “We recommend that our clients know what their goals are and know their specific reality.” He adds, “We have been a part of many studies where the dream phase gets out of control. It’s good to have those conversations, but to also know, realistically, we’re not going to get this, so let’s dream right now. Start the process with a big dream session, but then bring them back to reality. Don’t let people leave with the expectation that they’re getting everything—a big five-court basketball gym, an indoor water park, an ice rink, three climbing walls, etc. That type of facility is a once-in-a-lifetime project in most communities.” The consultants’ role is to help guide the conversations and align the dreams with goals and, ultimately, the budget. We will be much better equipped to help with the process if we have at least a general idea of those factors from the start.
Engagement Is The Key To Success
From initial needs-assessment through the design phase, one of the most important ways to ensure that a facility fulfills the dream of the community and its leaders is to engage citizens in the process. Caron advises, “Some engagement should be done in person, allowing people to see the design or the facility. That’s typically more of an afternoon or evening meeting, or a series of meetings that are offered at different times and different places to allow and encourage people to make it to the facility or the site. Other means of engagement, such as virtual meetings and social media, allow people to participate without having to fight traffic or leave work early, dress up, or find babysitters. Other available engagement tools are surveys, mailers, comment cards, and emails. The goal of any planning process should be to allow as many of your constituents as possible to have the opportunity to contribute. Maybe they choose not to, but what we want to avoid is having any segment of the community not knowing about the process and not having the chance to contribute.”
When the study and design process has been completed, Diehl recommends clearly communicating the outcomes to constituents. He says, “Hold a findings presentation and show the community what you’ve learned and what you’ve heard, what you’ve determined is feasible, and how you’ve determined that. It’s not just the loudest voice, and at times, that’s what happens is a group of people show up and just want to scream, but that’s not the best way to go about it.” It is important to inform the public about the process so they understand how the design was completed and why key decisions have been made.
Conceptualizing and building these facilities can be an exciting time for agency leaders, but the process must be managed to avoid ending up with a beautiful design that is far too expensive to build and operate. By developing solid goals up front and clearly analyzing both the community’s needs and the resources available to meet them, agency leaders and their constituents can make their dream facility a reality.
Alaina Brandenburger is the Marketing and Development Coordinator for GreenPlay, LLC in Louisville, Colo. Reach her at alainab@greenplayllc.com.