Special for USA TODAY
MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio
The hottest new attraction here is a place that has redefined the concept of the old neighborhood recreation center.
It's more like a neighborhood theme park.
With a price tag of $17 million, the 83,000 - square -foot Middleburg Heights Community Center, which opened in June, is unlike anything the city has ever seen.
It has indoor and outdoor swimming pools with spiraling water slides, spraying fountains, tire swings and lap lanes. It has two gymnasiums, an indoor track and exercise room, a community hall, classrooms and two concession stands.
-This facility is just phenomenal," says resident Larry Unger, who was sitting by the outdoor pool with his wife, Pam, and daughter, Tori, 10, on a recent afternoon. -The whole city gravitates here. It's amazing to see."
Built in Colonial style with a redbrick facade, clock tower, glass atrium and indoor waterfall, the center has become the pride of this Cleveland suburb of about 15,000.
-Before this, we had nothing," says Recreation Director Carl Guarnieri, whose office was once housed in a concrete block building near the town baseball field.
-I didn't imagine in my wildest dreams that it would turn out like this. I've heard a lot of people say they wish this sort of thing was around when they were growing up."
The Middleburg Heights center is among a growing number of upscale, public recreation facilities springing up across the USA.
Governing magazine, a monthly for state and local officials, recently noted that America's suburbs -are in the grip of a recreation edifice complex."
These large-scale centers have become suburban status symbols as well as community gathering spots for a public that demands more and better recreation services.
In Dearborn, Mich., a $43 million renovation and expansion project is underway for a recreation and performing arts center. When the center is completed in mid-2001, officials say, it will be the largest municipally owned facility in North America.
At 200,000 square feet, the building will include an indoor aquatics center, double gymnasium, indoor running track, 30-foot rock-climbing wall and 1,200-seat theater.
Voters approved a $23.8 million bond issue in 1996 to cover expenses and will pay about $40 more a year in property taxes. The Ford Motor Co., whose name will grace the complex, donated $5 million.
The city of Elgin, Ill., which has been generating millions in tax revenue from riverboat gambling, is building a $31.4 million, 186,000-square-foot recreation center.
It is expected to be the largest in the Midwest, with three full court gyms, two racquetball courts, a 10,000-square-foot fitness center, cafe, pro shop, teaching kitchen, two swimming pools and senior and teen activity rooms.
In Colorado, a 168,500-square-foot recreation center is scheduled to open in Jefferson County this September with two NHL ®size ice rinks, a 23,000-square-foot indoor aquatic park, three full-size gyms, a teen center with computers, a rock-climbing wall and a European style cafe. The $25 million Apex Center will be accessible by car or hiking or biking trails.
-It's a quality-of-life issue here that is helping to drive the demand for these kinds of recreation centers," says Barb Winsey, executive director of the Colorado Recreation Association. -People are willing to pay for it."
More than 60% of Jefferson County voters approved a bond issue that raises property taxes by about $28 a year for every $100,000 of assessed value.
-We asked residents to tell us what they want and don't want," says Rob Robinson, executive director of the North Jeffco Parks and Recreation District. -Our community helped pick all the components of what we have under our roof.... It's almost a stimulus overload when you walk into the center. It's pretty spectacular."
Recreation officials, eager to bring such innovative ideas to their own communities, have come to Colorado for guidance.
The Colorado Recreation Association offers a design and management school, and more than 100 professionals participated in a course last year.
Not every community can or is willing to pay for such elaborate recreation centers.
R Dean Tice, executive director of the National Recreation and Park Association, is concerned that inner-city areas don't have the funds to offer even basic recreation facilities to kids who need it.
-One of the biggest issues in recreation is accessibility and affordability," Tice says. -The tax base for municipal park and recreation programs has been diminishing over the last 20 years, so in the public arena, we have to go to fees and charges. We need to try to get more programs for inner cities. The suburbs are doing a good job, but in the cities, public funding is a problem."
Coming up with ways to pay for these gleaming-new recreation centers indeed has been a problem in some cities.
Middleburg Heights is a perfect example.
In the past 10 years, residents rejected at least eight different proposals for a recreation center and pool. They wanted a facility but weren't willing to pay higher property taxes or go into debt to get it.
The solution was a proposal to raise the city's payroll tax by about one third, to 1.75%.
Most residents - 84% - would not have to pay the higher tax because they work outside the city. Those who worked in cities where the payroll tax was higher would get a tax rebate.
Mayor Gary Starr made personal pitches for the new payroll tax through cable television spots and direct mail campaigns. -Who's going to believe a politician who says we're going to reduce their taxes? I had to sell it to them that this wasn't too good to be true," he says.
It worked. More than 70% of the residents voted for the proposal, and the city went about designing its dream center.
-Some people have called this my Taj Mahal," says Starr, Middleburg Heights' top official for 20 years. -I tell them thank you. I think this place rivals any other private facility or club anywhere."
Annual membership is $120 for adults and $210 for a family up to five. Only residents and full-time employees in the city can join.
Guarnieri says, -We really raised the bar with this place. I wonder what the next level will be?"
Counsilman Hunsaker
Phone: 314-894-1245
Fax: 314-894-0109