Jefferson City Parks staff to seek new offices

Staff likely to be split between new Wellness Center and second location

Ground work continues on the Lafayette Street hillside for the new Wellness Center.
Ground work continues on the Lafayette Street hillside for the new Wellness Center.

As the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission plans for the new Wellness Center, now under construction, department staff are looking for a potential new home.

The planned Lincoln University/Parks and Recreation Wellness and Multipurpose Recreation Center on Lafayette Street has been under construction since December, after the $11.5 million project was awarded to Sircal Contracting Inc. After the contract was awarded, Commission President Denise Chapel said the commission had approved moving staff offices from the city annex, where they are currently located, to the new facility, on the condition it can be afforded.

Chapel has not answered follow-up questions about how the commission came to approve moving staff to the new facility; whether an official vote was taken and when; and, if it was not approved with a formal vote, how the commission made that discussion without being in open, public session.

At a commission meeting last week, Todd Spalding, the new department director, said the new facility will have space for 16 parks offices and two for Lincoln University staff. While Spalding said it is critical for parks to have staff at the new building for programming purposes, the office space would not be enough for all department staff, especially looking forward and anticipating growth.

"As we look to the future ... our department is going to grow. I firmly believe that," Spalding said. "We're going to need to be prepared for that, so that space is not going to be enough for all of our staff."

However, keeping some staff in the annex is not a long-term solution, as the city has other plans for the building.

City officials have expressed a desire to move the municipal court, which currently operates one day a week out of City Hall, into the annex once parks staff moves out. That motivation was even cited by former Mayor Eric Struemph as one reason the City Council approved a $1.5 million line of credit for the Wellness Center project.

Spalding said he knows of no timeline currently for parks staff to leave the annex or for another city department to take over what has been parks space in the top floor of the building (the Fire Department administration is housed in the lower floor).

Spalding said the Wellness Center offices likely will be able to house most of the recreation staff, but he told commission members he will begin looking for more office space for the rest of the parks staff in the next few months. During that time, he said, the staff also will be looking at how to operate most efficiently, trying to figure out who needs to be where to operate best.

Spalding said ideally he would like to keep the staff as close to City Hall as possible, as there are many city meetings that need to be attended, even noting the possible use of the old church building on Monroe Street between the police department and the parks offices.

"I'm new here so far, but we're going to look potentially at the church next door," Spalding said. "Who knows? ... Maybe we can house a couple offices."

However, the old church would require significant upgrades to make the facility compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, meaning it may not be the most cost-efficient proposal. If nothing can be found near City Hall at a reasonable cost, Spalding said, it is possible they might look into returning to the location that once housed the parks department, which is now known as the Washington Park Center on Missouri Boulevard.

"It sure would be a possibility," Spalding said. "We're trying to make a long list of possibilities. That would be one that would be very inexpensive to do and certainly work."

At the commission meeting last week, commissioners indicated their approval of Spalding's plan to seek new office space to complement the space available in the Wellness Center.

"Be as creative as you need to be," said Commissioner Darryl Winegar. "Go for it."

Don't forget!

The Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission will hold three public forums on the planned Wellness Center. Those in attendance will be able to see renderings of the new facility and the agreement between Lincoln University and the commission on the facility. Attendees also will hear the history of the project, its funding and budget, as well as programming and use discussions.

When: 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18 (and again March 1 and March 2)

Where: McClung Park