The city of Arnold will get upgraded fitness equipment at the Arnold Recreation Center, a new playground at Ferd B. Lang Park and new picnic tables throughout Arnold City and Ferd B. Lang parks this year.
City Council members voted 7-0 on Dec. 19 to approve three contracts to pay for the fitness equipment, playground and tables for a total cost of $387,115.50. Ward 3 Councilman Mark Hood was not at the meeting.
“We are excited here,” Arnold Parks and Recreation Department Director Dave Crutchley said. “Anytime you get new equipment for our members at the rec center and it is the nicest equipment you can get at the time, that is huge. The playground is very exciting, getting to go to these parks and see how many people enjoy it with kids outside playing. It is what we are here for, to get people moving, active and enjoying life.”
The city will pay $259,957.10 to Foremost Fitness of High Ridge for the fitness equipment, $106,927 to Hutchinson Recreation and Design of Lake St. Louis for the playground and $20,231.40 to The Playground Consultants of Wildwood, according to council documents. Crutchley said he hopes to see everything installed by the end of March.
Fitness equipment
Crutchley said the new fitness equipment will replace the rec center’s cardio equipment, like treadmills, stationary bicycles and rowing machines, which are 10 years old.
Typically, the equipment is replaced every four to five years at the rec center, 1695 Missouri State Road. However, the current equipment lasted longer because it was used less during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have some of the best modern equipment coming in,” Crutchley said. “There are people talking about it.”
He said some of the incoming equipment will have new features, like two of the 11 new treadmills that can be set up to a 30 percent incline to offer a more challenging workout. In addition, two of the treadmills will have slats instead of belts because the slats allow the user to have a more natural running motion.
Crutchley said half of the 10 new elliptical machines include features that can be customized for the person using them. He said the equipment also will include two bikes that have a large fan-like front wheel that provides resistance without making manual adjustments.
Crutchley said he also is excited to get new weights, including a dumbbell set, weight plates between 2 1/2 to 45 pounds and bars.
He said the rec center also will add fitness equipment to be used in the indoor pool, incljding 16 aquabikes and six aquajumps, which are underwater stationary bicycles that have fins instead of wheels and trampolines.
“We will have a class to sign up for (the aquabikes), and that is exciting and new,” he said. “The aquabikes are easier on your joints than traditional stationary bikes.
“The aquajumps can be used to run in place or jump on, and we will use those in different classes.”
Crutchley said the city also plans to replace the flooring in the fitness area, which is on the rec center’s lower level.
He said the new fitness equipment is expected to arrive in late February or early March and will be installed after the new floor is laid.
“We have to make sure everything flows and the schedules work, so the area is only closed for a week or less,” Crutchley said.
Playground
Crutchley said the new playground at Ferd B. Lang Park, 1820 Old Lemay Ferry Road, will be approximately four times bigger than the current one. It is designed for children between the age of 5 and 12.
He said the park’s playground is 24 years old, and while it is safe to use, it is showing its age.
“It is not a very big playground, and the paint is coming off. The designs on it are faded out. It is worn,” he said. “Playgrounds typically last around 10 to 15 years, so this one has served Arnold well.”
The new playground has two features – a main climbing structure and a swing set with four swings. The climbing structure has four slides, multiple climbing pieces to enter and a five-ringed, inclined structure to climb through.
“There are tons of features on it,” Crutchley said. “It has so much to do on it. It has a little bit of everything on it, with multiple slides and all of the climbing apparatuses.”
Crutchley said the city, which had budgeted $100,000 during the 2024-2025 fiscal year to replace the playground, received a good deal on the equipment and installation. The city purchased the playground from Hutchinson Recreation and Design, which also supplied the new playground installed at Arnold City Park last year.
“The structure (for Ferd B. Lang Park) was on sale,” Crutchley said. “It is usually just $103,000 for just the playground equipment. We paid $69,000 for the playground equipment, and the installation brought it up to the $106,000. We got a lot for our money.”
Crutchley said he expects more children and family to visit Ferd B. Lang Park after the new playground is installed.
“With it being new and so much bigger, I think it will increase traffic there,” he said. “That will be great for that park.”
Picnic tables
Crutchley said the 20 new picnic tables will be placed under pavilions at the Arnold City and Ferd B. Lang parks, and the tables currently under pavilions will replace the tables currently located in the grassy picnic areas in the parks.
Crutchley said the current tables in the grassy areas are becoming unusable because of wear and tear.
“The tables (in grass areas) have broken welds and the boards are bowed out,” he said.
The new tables will have pine benches and tops, and instead of the traditional long, two-bench seating, the tables will have four shorter benches. Crutchley said his staff recommended the four-bench tables after contacting other parks and rec departments and hearing from a majority of them that they had switched to the four-bench tables.
“The main reason is because with two-bench tables the wood warps and bows and starts breaking the welds,” Crutchley said. “The four-bench tables still seat the same number of people, but the surface areas are smaller and don’t bow out as much. We will see how it works out for us.”
Arnold also has budgeted $90,000 to replace the Pecan Pavilion at Arnold City Park and the Pine and Redbud pavilions at Ferd B. Lang this year.