By Phyllis Schaltenbrand
For a good number of years the residents of St. Charles have been asking for a Community Center. Surveys have been taken, sites have been inspected and drawings have been completed. It now appears that the Community Center could at long last be a reality in the not too distant future.
The City Council Community Center Committee has selected a site for the proposed Community Center and is making their recommendation to the whole Council.
The committee, chaired by City Council President Rory Riddler with Councilwoman Dottie Greer, Councilmen Joe Koester, Larry Muench and Bob Kneemiller, in a unanimous motion selected the site of the Boys and girls Club adjoining Blanchette Park as the recommended site for the center.
At a committee meeting Monday evening, the Council members recommended the entire Council authorize the city administration to begin negotiations with the Board of the Boys and Girls Club of St. Charles and to reach an agreement.
According to Council President Riddler, “We plan on a campus like atmosphere. We will be using the Boys & Girls Club Property, the vacant industrial property and some of the park. There will be a main campus style entrance on Fifth Street. The Boys & Girls Club is planning on a $4 million new building. The Community Center and the Boys & Girls Club will be separated by a parking lot. When the Fifth Street extension is completed across Highway 370 we are constructing an eight-foot bicycle path that will provide access to the Katy Trail system. It will also cross 370.”
Riddler said there are no plans for a joint operation but the city hopes they can share parking and land cost with the Boys and Girls Club to their mutual benefit. The committee believes the location of the Community Center will be where the Boys and Girls Club now stands. “This is the highest point in St. Charles,” said Council President Riddler. “There will be an indoor elevated walking track with large windows giving a great view of the river and St. Louis County.”
If approved by the Council, Riddler expects the negotiations between the Boys & Girls Club and the City to be completed within two to three months. “The Community Center will be great for families. It will be enjoyed by people of all ages,” he said. “It will benefit the Frenchtown and older neighborhoods in Ward One. In addition it will bring new prominence and new life to Blanchette Park, the jewel of our park system. It will show a new generation what Blanchette Park has to offer. We will have a real synergy going.”
Riddler said Lindenwood University was also conducting talks with the Boys and Girls Club regarding their possible participation in the construction of a competition size swimming pool in the club building. He told us the Community Center would have more of an aquatic recreation type swimming pool.
The Community Center building is being designed by Hastings and Chivetta, and according to Riddler, they will probably design the Boys and Girls Club building.
