Bend Park and Recreation District has been recognized by a state-wide organization for Juniper Swim & Fitness Center’s efforts to upgrade and maintain its mechanical systems. The efforts have also led to significant energy savings over the past few years.
Oregon Recreation and Parks Association (ORPA) announced the award at the recent annual conference in Portland. The ORPA Asset Management Award recognizes an agency or team for its exceptional management, maintenance, enhancement and/or programming of an existing park, trail, natural area, recreation and/or aquatic facility over time. Watch the award video for details.
Juniper Swim & Fitness Center had 474,169 patron visits while it was open for 364 days of the past year, averaging 15 hours per day, with 275 fitness and aquatics classes held weekly. The facility was constructed in 1949, with major additions completed in 1979 and 2006.
In recent years, Bend Park and Recreation District’s facilities team has worked to mend decades of building additions with modern-day technology and also to provide comfortable conditions for all activities that vary greatly under one roof, including staff-centralized building control systems, the installation of a new double-boiler system, heat exchangers, air handlers and an air-cooled chiller to manage pool and air temperatures. There have also been LED lighting upgrades to the pool areas and parking lots.
“Bend Park and Recreation District is committed to sustainability and taking care of what we have,” said Don Horton, executive director. “When we maintain and care for our equipment like we’ve been recognized for at Juniper Swim & Fitness Center, it helps us serve the community well and stretch our tax dollars efficiently.”
The district is part of Energy Trust of Oregon’s Sustainable Energy Management program and has benefited from incentives on energy saving equipment, including reduced costs by nearly 50 percent for mechanical upgrade and lighting projects at Juniper Swim & Fitness Center. The upgrades contribute to the district’s goal of an overall 5 percent energy use reduction by 2020.
Over the past three years, Juniper has reduced consumption of enough electricity to power 20 homes for a year. Also, natural gas consumption has reduced an average of 6 percent annually since 2016. That is equivalent to the gas needed to heat 51 homes.
