Size, design of MH facility researched
A two-day visit to recreation centers in four Colorado cities
provided invaluable pointers on how Morgan Hill can configure its
own recreation center, according to councilman Steve Tate.
Size, design of MH facility researched
A two-day visit to recreation centers in four Colorado cities provided invaluable pointers on how Morgan Hill can configure its own recreation center, according to councilman Steve Tate.
“It was extremely worthwhile. We got ideas about what works well, the placement of facilities, the size of the lobby and where the registration desk goes and whether it should serve as a security port without looking like it,” Tate said.
“It was a whirlwind tour, but we have a much better concept of what we would like our center to be,” said councilwoman Hedy Chang.
The trip took Tate, Chang, council colleague Greg Sellers, city recreation manager Julie Spier, project manager Mori Struve and chief building official Larry Ford to Loveland, Longmont, East Boulder and Wheat Ridge.
What members of the delegation saw will stand them in good stead as the city moves forward with plans for an $18 million, 50,000-square-foot recreation center on eight acres adjacent to Community Park. The project is now in the conceptual stage.
It was Spier’s second visit to the sites, which she first saw in June when she attended at four-day facilities design and management conference in Denver.
“I saw 11 recreation center then, but the four best exemplify the concept we have for Morgan Hill,” Spier said.
Two of the four Colorado facilities are associated with senior citizen centers, which occupy the same building and have access to recreational facilities.
Morgan Hill officials plan to incorporate a senior citizen wing and a teen area in their center in addition to standard offerings, including aerobic and weight rooms, a rock-climbing wall and a family oriented swimming pool that includes a slide.
“I like the idea of seniors and teenagers having their own areas and shared areas as well. We saw that work in Colorado,” Chang said.
Sellers said: “We saw what works well and what doesn’t. It gave a us a clear sense of what we think is important for Morgan Hill.”
“No one thing overwhelmed us. It was an accumulation of details – colors, architectural style, the layout of facilities — that ultimately will make or break what we do,” Sellers said. “We learned that cardio and weight rooms of about 9,000 square feet were too small. So maybe ours, on the drawing boards at 12,000 square feet, may be about the right size.”
By consensus, Longmont’s community center was the delegation’s favorite, according to Tate.
“It was welcoming, spacious, warm and it flowed, Tate said.
Colorado has a wealth of recreational facilities, Sellers noted, in part as a result of demand, in part from the tax structure that provides funding parks and recreation.
Weather dictates indoor running tracks in Colorado, an amenity that can be dispensed with in California, Sellers said.
“If there were any doubts when we left, they were dispelled when we came back,” Sellers said. “We’re going to spend millions of dollars, so we should know where we are going.”
Early in the process, city officials entertained three proposals for operating the recreation center – by the city itself, a sports management company and the YMCA.
Now, Spier said, it’s been decided that her department will oversee operations. But the city, she said, is negotiating with the YMCA for possible operation of such facets as the aquatics, fitness and wellness programs.
The indoor recreation center is one of several capital projects that residents have wanted for years. The city is building a community/cultural center, too, which is scheduled to open at the end of the year, and plans are under way for a separate aquatics center and a skate board park.
Also, the city is looking for state bond money to expand the local branch of the county library.
