New Parks & Rec Commissioner Supports Self-Sustaining Recreation Complex

By John Voket

Newtown’s newest Parks and Recreation commissioner has plenty of ideas about taking one of the towns largest departments to the next level and beyond. Phil Steimle, who attended his first commission meeting last month, made some of those suggestions known to fellow commissioners as well as Parks and Rec staff members who were in attendance.

In a subsequent interview with The Bee, Mr Steimle discussed his background, and the experiences he has had with public recreation facilities that he believes could be applied to benefit the community here in Newtown.

Mr Steimle grew up in New York and went to work in his teens as a lifeguard. His father worked in the catering division of the New York Athletic Club, so Mr Steimle was exposed to the complicated logistics of operating a public recreation facility from a very young age.

After working for several years as a professional lifeguard at the club, he went on to coach and work with the State University of New York for 17 years. Mr Steimle has also served as a consultant for Ellis and Associates, a company that provides expert training and licensing for lifeguards, and creates water safety procedures for large amusement and water park operators.

He currently operates his own consulting business dealing with pool and water-related recreational issues and installations.

Having three children who have all participated in Newtown Parks and Recreation programs over the years, Mr Steimle said he was pleased to be able to offer his energy and expertise to the department in the advisory capacity of a town commissioner. He was appointed to fill a vacancy that expires at the end of 2004, but he is hopeful the commission will ask him to continue on for a full term at that time.

Recalling the interview process leading up to his appointment, Mr Steimle said he came to the post with big ideas and strong opinions about the future of Newtown’s Parks and Recreation Department.

“I’m not politically minded, and I don’t agree with all the department’s policies, so I was a bit surprised when the selection committee unanimously voted me onto the commission,” he said. “Throughout the interview process I spoke my mind, so I didn’t think I was going to get the appointment.”

Mr Steimle said that he has enjoyed a great deal of success in his work, whether overseeing operations at a municipal recreation center in Eastchester, N.Y., training and licensing life guards at huge water parks or as a coach and instructor at the State Maritime College in New York.

“I always cared about children and the young people in my community,” he said. “And I built successful relationships and programs by giving young people responsibility. The kids relish it.”

As he looks back remembering many of the young people he has helped influence, he is proud of the “phenomenal achievements” many of them have accomplished.

“I’ve worked with kids who have gone on to be doctors and dentists, business leaders and so forth,” said Mr Steimle. “One of my former lifeguards even went on to be a candidate for mayor of New Rochelle [N.Y.].”

The two primary issues Mr Steimle hopes to influence within the realm of his responsibilities both concern the future of Newtown’s recreational facilities. In the short-term, he said he would like to see an overhaul of the training practices and responsibilities for town camp counselors and lifeguards.

Drawing from his background in lifeguard training and facility safety, he believes training and practices related to town camp counselors and lifeguards could use an overhaul.

“I’ve gone to pick up one of my kids from camp, and seen half of the counselors overseeing programs and the other half of them off playing Whiffle Ball,” Mr Steimle said. He said since there is little or no adult supervision, he really could not blame the counselors. But he believes if expectations were tied to greater responsibilities and a greater sense of professionalism, the counselors and lifeguards would be happier and all the campers and recreation participants would be safer.

“We want to help influence these kids to be the best they can be, and that means instilling in them a greater level of pride and strong work ethics that will help them enjoy future success,” he said. By creating more positions of responsibility for young adults within the system, Mr Steimle believes that the town can greatly reduce the amount of inappropriate activities local teens engage in.

“Where do the 12- to 15-year-olds have to go?” he asked. “Kids my son’s age have no place to go play basketball. There needs to be something more organized for this age group.”

Mr Steimle sees this concern as one of the reasons why the town should move forward with the idea to construct a large-scale recreation facility on the grounds of Fairfield Hills. He thinks an ambitious facility would create many safe recreational and employment opportunities for young people in town.

“We have a group of children who tend to get in trouble — but they are at a tough age, too young to have a job and too old for baby-sitters,” he said. “I think a year-round recreation facility with the right balance of programming would help nurture the talents of these children, give them goals. I’ve personally had kids like these who came to work for me when they were 10 to 12 years old, and they kept coming back to work with me through, and even after, college.”

The idea to create such a facility is not a new one. The current master plan for Fairfield Hills allows for a recreation facility, according to town parks and Recreation Director Barbara Kasbarian.

Mr Steimle said he knows from previous experience, and from talking to recreation directors in towns that have such facilities, that they can create significant revenue to ensure such a facility would sustain itself financially. When Mr Steimle was hired to oversee a recreation facility in Eastchester, he was told that the day the facility began costing taxpayers money to maintain, the town would turn it over to a private operator.

“But the operation always made money,” he said. “By the end of its second year the pool alone was generating $200,000 in fees for the town.”

Daring to dream, Mr Steimle thinks the town should make an investment in a top-flight facility that incorporated two or more swimming pools, with at least one indoor/outdoor pool providing a viewing gallery large enough to attract neighboring communities for large-scale invitational meets and competitions. He also envisions the facility to incorporate several gymnasiums, including one with similar attributes to the pool.

Mr Steimle said the plan to create a self-sustaining revenue stream could work in Newtown by creating a stepped-up membership structure for those outside of Newtown who might use such a facility.

“I would want to see reasonable fees for residents, with a stepped up membership or fee structure for out of town members, or other communities who had a reason to use the pools and gymnasiums,” he said. “For example, if Newtown families paid $1,000 a year for full access membership and privileges, any remaining memberships to nonresidents would be $3,000. And in this area, we would probably be turning away families who wanted to take advantage of that.”

The facility would include catering, another lease/service fee opportunity, and could play host to local proms, weddings, and celebrations, as well as providing these services, at an increased rate, for out-of-towners. Mr Steimle also thinks a complex of this nature would serve as a central location for town camps, offering indoor options for campers in the event of inclement weather.

“Today, if there is a thunder storm threatening, they blow the whistles and sometimes end up closing camp activities for the remainder of the day,” he said. “This creates an extreme hardship for parents who are forced to leave work to come and get their children. Having an indoor/outdoor facility would alleviate this hardship for everyone.”

As he concluded the interview, Mr Steimle paused to consider everything he had related, wondering out loud if his ideas might be too ambitious.

“When they appointed me, the chairman said he liked fresh ideas, and I consider myself a doer,” Mr Steimle said. “But I have to think, who am I to have ideas like this…maybe [fellow Parks and Recreation commissioners] will be booting me out of here by January.”