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SPECIAL FOCUS
There's a new way to get wet at the Buffalo Grove Park District. On June 12, more than 500 people were on hand to celebrate the grand opening of "Spray 'N Play," a colorful aquatic playground addition to the Busch Grove Community Park. Seeing families take an instant liking to the new facility, it seems so obvious that the Splashpod is exactly what the community has needed and wanted for a long time. But sometimes the obvious reveals itself slowly. This was the case at Buffalo Grove. July/August 2004 - 33
The Village of Buffalo Grove lies within southern Lake and northern Cook Counties and is known for its upscale housing and affluent demographics. The village offers country charm, serenity and convenient access to the cultural, entertainment, and business centers of nearby Chicago. Described as a young, aggressive community with strong academic programs, controlled community development and active citizen involvement, Buffalo Grove is listed as one of "Fifty Fabulous Places to Raise Your Family" in a nationally published book by that title. Accordingly, the municipality is home to an abundance of young families, and over 90 percent of mothers in the community are stay-at-home moms. The town's commitment to its families is revealed through superior schools and public services, extensive youth and family programs and 50 neighborhood parks. With such prosperity within its borders, one would think that the Buffalo Grove Park District would have state-of-the-art facilities in all areas of town: a sophisticated community center, aquatic center, cultural arts center and a theatre. In reality, efforts to bring the town's aged facilities into the modern era have met with resistance. Over the last decade, there have been five failed attempts to pass a referendum to improve existing facilities or construct new ones. The 2000 referendum went down by less than 100 votes. The message from Buffalo Grove residents was clear: this community fully understood and supported the need for 34 - Illinois Parks and Recreation
additional space — they just were not willing to fund the cost for these capital projects through a permanent property tax increase.
Some have said that the Buffalo Grove Park District has long suffered from "aquatic envy." To the north in Vernon Hills and Gurnee, local park districts opened state-of-the-art aquatic facilities with water slides, recreational and lap swim spaces and grassy family picnic areas in 1993 and 1999, respectively. In 2003, Buffalo Grove's neighbor to the east in Wheeling opened a modern, family-oriented aquatic center that lured many of Buffalo Grove's residents. In Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove's neighbor to the south, a community-supported, $15-million referendum passed in 2001 allowing four aged pools to be renovated into attractive new aquatic centers. Buffalo Grove's families were leaving town to swim. And that was an unpleasant reality for a district that strives to be the first and best choice for community recreation. District staff considered what they could do to keep families in town. District officials knew that financially out-of-the-question aquatic centers with their brightly colored water slides, lazy rivers and wave pools lured 'tweens, teens and families alike. Unfortunately, these types of facilities seemed to lie beyond the realm of financial feasibility. With a limited capital budget, the district looked to improve customer service without breaking the bank. The epiphany came when the staff and administrators at the district realized that adults generate plans for these $5-million facilities with adult interests at heart. But what was the real need of the community? Simple: In the summer, people, especially kids, really just want to get wet.
With this new perspective. Park District Executive Director Mike Rylko and Director of Recreation and Facilities Dan Schimmel attended several educational seminars on aquatic playgrounds at the 2002 NRPA Congress in Tampa, Florida. Fusing sleek architectural designs with fun-filled entertainment, these facilities, commonly known as Splashpads, are fully automated, zero-depth recreational systems that are revolutionizing aquatic play. The typical Splashpad is an exhilarating play environment that features an assortment of brightly colored stainless steel play products and flush-mounted ground sprays in a multitude of innovative designs. Designed to inspire the imaginations of children of all ages and abilities, the interactive Splashpad can be launched into action by children with the simple
July/August 2004 - 35 press of a button. The result is an instantly dynamic and refreshing aquatic play area where different features spring to life in a series of pre-programmed spray sequences. Upon learning of the product's many benefits, Buffalo Grove decided that the Splashpad was the timely, affordable solution for upgrading the district's aquatics offerings at the Busch Grove Community Park. Meeting the safety standards for public playgrounds set out by the American Society for Testing and Materials, the Splashpad manufactured by Vortex Aquatic Structures International enabled the town to create a safe, yet thrilling aquatic play environment for its residents. While providing greater recreational options than a traditional wading pool, the Splashpad entertains a comparatively larger number of people with minimal staffing, reduced supervision and significantly lower maintenance and operating costs. Ideal for entertaining summer camp participants and children of all ages, the facility also gives parents the option of watching their kids play without having to get wet themselves. As no neighboring communities currently operate an aquatic playground like this one, "Spray 'N Play," the Busch Grove aquatic playground, has the distinction of being the first of its kind in the area. The realization of this vision happened in waves. The first step in the creation of "Spray 'N Play" was to find the best landscape architect to design it. For Buffalo Grove's situation, that turned out to be Dan Dalziel, the owner of 3D Design Studio out of Grayslake. Following numerous productive brainstorming and research sessions, the project team eventually chose 29 different play features that provide a variety of spray effects geared towards entertaining the 10-and-under age group. Visible from the highway and guaranteed to catch the eye of passers-by, the selection of brightly colored features includes ground sprays, dumping buckets, spray cannons, a rainbow and a Bernoulli Play Discovery Fountain for toddlers and pre-schoolers. After the designer and manufacturer's representatives secured all the necessary permits from the state health department, the project went out to bid. The contract was awarded to Schaefges Bros. Inc., based out of Wheeling, and they broke ground on the project site in June 2003. The construction took less than a year. The Busch Grove Splashpad measures 10,000 square feet (with room for expansion) and includes washrooms and changing room facilities, a sunshade, two picnic shelters and an adjacent concession area. As the Park District must pay for water consumed, the Splashpad also incorporates a water quality management system that disinfects and re-circulates the water. While ensuring water quality, the system minimizes consumption and maximizes cost effectiveness. The new $750,000 facility is expected to pay its own way. Though the admission price is a nominal $3 per session, Spray 'N Play at Busch Grove Community Park is projected to generate $54,000 in its first year, with expenses of $40,000, resulting in a net profit of $14,000. By comparison, the community's Willow Stream pool has expenses of $123,000 per year and operates at a net loss of approximately $53,000 annually. "Growing budget constraints and safety concerns are forcing many municipalities to look at creative new ways of meeting the recreational needs of their communities," says Stephen Hamelin, president and founder of Vortex. "As zero-depth aquatic play environments, Splashpads offer more safety, higher interactivity and greater entertainment value than traditional swimming and wading pools while being much more cost-effective." Now that the Buffalo Grove Park District is regaining the attention of its residents, it has made a conscious commitment to keep meeting the aquatic need, and then some: directly behind the Splashpad is a new playground and two new ball fields to accommodate more than just bathers at the Busch Grove park site. Just this year, the district stopped using private concessions vendors at Busch Grove Community Park. There is now a district-operated roving cart that encourages people to stay at the park longer by offering food and beverages — and, of course, generates income for the district. If they think about it, taxpayers and patrons of the Buffalo Grove Park District must be pleased that the district found an economically viable way to overcome the park 36 - Illinois Parks and Recreation
district's aquatic envy. Of course the children don't care about that. All they know is this summer they go home happy - and wet. Lori Magee, APRP, is the public relations and marketing manager for the Buffalo Grove Pork District, an Illinois Distinguished Leisure Services Agency. For information on Spray 'N Play's hours of operation, community uses or other inquiries, visit www.bgparkdistrict.org. Alejandra Pares is the marketing and communications manager for Vortex Aquatic Structures International, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The company's web site is www.vortex-intl.com or call 866-886-7839.
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