Projects large and small keep St. Charles Park District at the top of its game

From the new multi-purpose outdoor fitness equipment plaza at Pottawatomie Park to decorative landscaping and windscreens at Otter Cove Aquatic Park, the St. Charles Park District is adding dozens of fun and functional amenities and necessities at many of its facilities this year.

Some projects are big, bold and bright – such as repainting shade and play features at Swanson Pool in vibrant primary colors. Others are less exciting but just as essential, such as paving cart paths at Pottawatomie Golf Course and replacing bathroom partitions at James O. Breen Community Park. Regardless of their size and scope, all such improvements speak to the mission of the St. Charles Park District and its commitment to serving its constituents.

“Taking care of what we already have is important to our community,” said Laura Rudow, superintendent of parks and planning. “But we also have to add to and update our facilities on a regular basis to retain current interest and attract new visitors.”

To do so, Rudow and the park district staff not only visually survey and assess basic facility structures, such as lighting, heating, air conditioning and plumbing, but they also listen to the wants and needs of the community.

“Community requests rank very high on our list of priorities,” said Rudow.

A new pickleball court at Belgian Town Park and the renovation of tennis court surfacing to include pickleball court dimensions at Langum Park are a direct result of such community input.

“Our pickleball enthusiasts let us know that they enjoyed the sport and looked to the park district to provide extra space upon which to play,” said Rudow.

But park district improvements are not all fun and games. Supervisors also must tend to the nuts and bolts of facility maintenance through projects, such as installing new gym roof top air conditioning units at the Pottawatomie Community Center, new heat exchangers for Swanson Pool and a state-of-the-art Strike Guard lightning prediction system at numerous park district locations.

The park district also works to protect and restore native landscape areas through projects, such as grading and drainage upgrades to the Native Plant Demonstration Garden at the Pottawatomie Community Center. And it is looking to the future through the commission of a preliminary engineering study that will gauge the feasibility of improvements to the flow of the Fox River at Boy Scout Island as part of the Active River Project component of the Fox River Corridor Master Plan.

Such attention to detail and acknowledgement of constituent desires pays off. In the most recent customer survey, the vast majority of respondents expressed a high level of satisfaction with the park district’s programs and facilities.

“We are here for the community,” said Rudow. “Everything we do is with the goal of maintaining and protecting their interest and investment in the park district.”