Waveland Park Neighborhood Association

Message from the WPNA President...

Mar 27, 2002

The "Community" and the New Community Center
Final plans for the "Northwest Community Center" which will be just west of the Franklin
library have been approved. Polk County will build a structure essentially the same as its
recently-completed senior center on Forest Avenue. Seniors living in the northwest part of the
city do need an adequate facility for congregate meals along with the health, recreation, and
education programs of Polk County Senior Services, which the new center on Franklin will
provide. I was very disappointed, however, to see that the "community" element of this structure
and its programming is little more than an opportunity to use rooms when vacant for meetings
and events after hours.

WPNA's Board of Directors supported the community center concept, stating "In addition to
programs serving senior citizens, we support a center which provides programs and services to
members of our neighborhood including children, students, young adults, seniors, families, and
other community groups and organizations." The Waveland Park Neighborhood Association
gathered opinions in a survey, providing a variety of ideas and suggestions for how the center
could serve as a resource for families and children in the area. Waveland Park residents
participated in every public opportunity the County provided to contribute to the planning
process. At both a public hearing and a "public input" meeting on the project, incorporating an
outdoor recreation trail and a walking trail as part of the plans were the single items receiving
the most support.

An editorial in the Register last summer applauded the idea of a full-service, city-county
community center complete with a branch library, which could include indoor and outdoor
recreation facilities for all ages in a project that would be "Greater Than the Sum." Yet no
coordination with the upcoming library expansion is evident. For me, the greatest shock of the
entire process as this project has gone through the official channels came when an image
projected on the screen by Polk County before the Plan and Zoning Commission identified the
area west of their building as a "Golf Training Center."

Zoning changes are underway for a significant part of the northwest section in Glendale
Cemetery, and the new Polk County center will occupy only a small part of that land. The
possibility of establishing a driving range and "golf training center" might be valued as a source
of revenue by the Park and Recreation Department, but the green spaces of Waveland Park are a
resource that should be used to improve the quality of life for the entire neighborhood...and the
lion's share of non-cemetery green space around here is already committed to the sport of golf. A
recreation trail through Waveland Park has been endorsed by the Park and Recreation Trails
Committee, the Park and Recreation Board, and seven surrounding neighborhood associations.
Hopefully, the City of Des Moines will be more responsive to neighborhood input than Polk
County seemed to be. What do you think should be done to improve the quality of life in
Waveland Park? I encourage all of you to share your ideas and comments with your City Council
representatives. Take part in upcoming Park and Recreation meetings on plans for the area. It's
not too late to get the community into the community center project.

David Huston
WavelandPk@aol.com