The Arnold Parks and Recreation Department has a lot going on right now.
A popular child care program will return this month to the Arnold Recreation Center, after a nearly five-year absence, and other improvements are underway at the rec center, 1695 Missouri State Road.
In addition, a new playground will soon be installed at Ferd B. Lang Park, 1820 Old Lemay Ferry Road.
Teresa Kohut, recreation superintendent for the Arnold parks department, said the Kids Club will reopen for rec center members on Monday, March 10. Other than their membership fees, there is no cost to members to leave their children in the Kids Club’s care.
Kids Club employees will watch the children for up to two hours each visit, and their parents or guardians must stay at the rec center while the children are being cared for through the Kids Club. The program is open to children between the ages of 6 months and 10 years.
The Kids Club will be available from 8-11:30 a.m. on Mondays through Fridays and 4-7 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, Kohut said.
The rec center previously operated the Kids Club, but it closed in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Members have asked for it over and over,” Kohut said. “I think people will love it.”
She said the parks department has hired 40 part-time employees to staff the Kids Club and has acquired some new toys for the program.
Due to state regulations, a maximum of six children between the ages of 6 months and 2 years and a maximum of 14 children between the ages of 3 and 10 may be in the club at one time, Kohut said.
“We are following the state regulations for the ratio between children and adults,” she said. “We have been doing training with staff since the start of January. We feel we are well prepared to make this work for our members.”
The Kids Club, which will be held in the rec center’s large meeting room, may be expanded later to accept children of non-members to take part in the program. Additional hours may be added later, too, Kohut said.
“We will make sure we have enough room for members, and if we find we have space, we may be able to open it to non-members,” she said. “We are hoping people will like (the initial operating) hours. We may be able to add some weekend hours on Saturday.”
Kohut said the rec center will hold a grand opening during the Kids Club hours on March 10.
“People will be able to come in see what it is like and ask the staff any questions,” she said.
Other improvements
Those who visit the rec center will notice other recently completed improvements, with others to start soon.
The rec center’s indoor pool reopened on Feb. 28 after being shut down since Feb. 17 for repairs.
Parks and Recreation Department Director Dave Crutchley said the pool was drained on Feb. 16 after the rec center closed that day to allow for laterals in two filters to be replaced, new grates at the bottom of the pool to be installed, valves to be replaced and new landing pads to be put down at the end of slides. Crews deep-cleaned the pool.
The indoor pool was expected to reopen on Feb. 22, but those plans were delayed by snow on Feb. 19 and issues with heating the water and getting chemicals properly balanced after the pool was refilled, Crutchley said.
“The snow (on Feb. 19) put all of our contractors behind and equipment didn’t get delivered,” he said.
Due to the frigid weather when the pool was refilled, it took longer than usual to heat the water, and there was acid and soda ash in the lines that filter the water, causing the water to turn green on Feb. 26.
“It took until Feb. 27 to clear it up,” he said. “The chemicals are now in balance.”
On March 3, the portion of the rec center’s fitness area where cardio-equipment is housed was closed to allow for the space to be expanded slightly and for new carpet and equipment to be installed. The cardio-equipment area is expected to reopen Saturday, Crutchley said.
“Most of the equipment is put together off site, so when they bring it in, they just have to plug them in,” he said. “We will do training with our staff on Friday, and we should be up and rolling Saturday.”
The city paid $259,957.10 to Foremost Fitness of High Ridge for the new fitness equipment, which includes treadmills, stationary bicycles and rowing machines.
Crutchley said the parks department planned to expand the weight area while the cardio-equipment area was being expanded by a few inches, but the weight area project has been delayed because the city is waiting for new flooring to be delivered. The weight area flooring may not arrive until May.
“When the flooring arrives, we will not need to close the entire area,” he said. “We should be able to close one side and leave the other side open while the new sections are put in.”
New playground equipment arrives
Crutchley said new playground equipment for Ferd B. Lang Park was delivered on Feb. 24 and installation of that equipment may start on March 10.
Depending on weather conditions, the playground could be completed in two to three weeks, he added.
The playground will be erected on an island near the park’s main parking lot, across the street from the current playground where an octagon-shaped pavilion had once been located.
“It is going there because on both sides of the island there are about 30 parking spots,” Crutchley said. “Where the current playground is located you have to walk across parking lots and a road to get to it. With the new playground, you will be able to park your car and use a sidewalk we are putting in and not have to go across a road to get to it.”
Arnold paid $106,927 to Hutchinson Recreation and Design of Lake St. Louis for the new playground equipment, which will be about four times the size of the current playground, which is 24 years old.
Crutchley said the current playground will remain up until the summer and then will be demolished.
The new playground will not be opened until the city can have asphalt and mulch installed after the structure is assembled, he said.
“We will do a grand opening after everything is completed,” Crutchley said.