Not just any community center, but the right one

St. Louis Park wants to hear from residents about what they want in a community center. City staff members have cautioned against building a new, city-run fitness center.

By JENNA ROSS, Star Tribune

Last update: September 17, 2008 - 12:06 AM

St. Louis Park is talking about building a community center. But first, it has to figure out what a community center is.

An arts center? A fitness center? A teen center? All of the above?

"It means different things to different people," said Council Member Phil Finkelstein. "We're not just building a community center to build a community center. It has to make sense for our city."

As part of a major "visioning" process with residents, businesses and schools, the city learned that many were interested in creating some kind of civic-use center.

City staff have since explored that option, sifting through feedback, touring other facilities, discussing expanding the city's recreation center and looking at possible partnerships.

Now, the city is ready to return to residents and ask them more specifically what they want.

"We're trying to drill down and get more granular information," said Clint Pires, the city's chief information officer. "What are you hoping for? What would you be looking for in a multi-use center? How might you use it?"

Those questions could make their way into an in-depth survey, said City Manager Tom Harmening, but that idea hasn't been finalized.

Residents have expressed an interest in arts facilities such as the Hopkins Center for the Arts; indoor, unstructured recreation space like an open gym; an indoor walking track; indoor play space for small children, and more, according to council members and staff.

"There are certain kinds of programming for which we don't have basic facilities," said Council Member Susan Sanger, "and a lot of people are asking for them."

Throughout this process, city employees and council members have pointed out that the city already boasts amenities including several private fitness centers, park spaces and the Sabes Jewish Community Center. And they don't want to unnecessarily duplicate services.

In their discussion, the city employees "questioned whether there is truly a need for a fitness center owned and operated by the city of St. Louis Park" because of the "multitude" of private and nonprofit clubs in the city and nearby, according to a staff report.

"Our thought is, does it make sense to build our own fitness center and compete against those in town?" Harmening said. "Or would our dollars be better spent partnering with those operations?"

Whatever the structure, it needs to be affordable, according to the report.

"Many respondents were very clear that if we build it, it is critical to keep it affordable for families and individuals in our community," the report says.

Council members agreed.

"I don't want us to be like Eden Prairie, where you put up a fancy new fitness center and then not have the money to run it," Finkelstein said. "I want to make sure it's simply responsible."

Earlier this year, Eden Prairie's council was surprised to learn their newly expanded fitness center -- funded mostly through $6.65 million in bonds approved by voters in 2005 -- would cost $1 million a year more to run.

A St. Louis Park civic center was one of many ideas that came from the city's "Vision St. Louis Park" process, which in 1994 and 1995 created a framework that helped guide a decade of policies and development. The city credits it as the spark for what eventually became the multi-use, much-heralded Excelsior & Grand development.

The city repeated and updated the process in 2005 and 2006. And since then, the city has chosen topics on which to focus. The civic center falls under the category of creating a "connected and engaged community."

"The idea of even pursuing something like this came from the community," Harmening said.

Jenna Ross • 612-673-7168

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