SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE AT PERRY PARK CENTER

PERRYVILLE -- When Glenn Graham looks at the Perry Park Center he sees art and culture coming to Perryville.

But Jeff Glenn sees something different. He wants to be the first person down the 109-foot-long water slide that shoots into the pool.

Whether it's a water slide, swimming pool, aerobics room, a play, movie or a concert pianist's performance, you'll find it all at the Perry Park Center. And don't forget the public library.

The new Perry Park Center is situated along City Park Drive off Kingshighway.

The 100,000-square-foot complex includes racquetball courts, a gymnasium for volleyball and basketball, an indoor track, an indoor swimming pool, and more equipment than can fit comfortably into a weight room. There's also a theater, the Perryville branch of the Riverside Regional Library and a child-care center.

The center's grand opening ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Perry County residents can use the center free Saturday and Sunday. User fees, ranging from daily to yearly packages for singles and families are available and will begin Monday.

All Perry County residents can apply for resident fees since the project is a city-county effort. A drawing will be held during the grand opening to give away an annual pass to the center.

After Saturday, the center will be open daily. Hours are Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The park center has been a dream for Perryville for nearly five years. And after a successful voter campaign and almost two year's construction, it's ready for the public.

"There really is something for everybody," said Graham, president of the Perry County Multi-Purpose Center Inc., a nonprofit group that helped get the center off the ground.

"I get so excited just talking about it," he said while standing in the lobby as workers finished putting up ceiling tiles and lighting in the theater behind him.

Getting voter support for the nearly $9.5 million center wasn't as difficult as it could have been, said Craig Lindsley, city administrator for Perryville.

At the time the project was first proposed, community groups were already talking about covering the pool, the need for a community theater and building a gymnasium or hall for receptions and meetings.

They all came together to back the Perry Park Center.

"The reality is that it was the biggest coalition ever," Lindsley said. That coalition was just what helped generate support for the project.

Voters approved the center and its funding on its first ballot measure in 1996.

The center is funded by a half-cent sales tax approved by county voters. After 20 years, 3/8 of the half-cent tax would be used to pay off construction debts and the remaining 1/8 would be used to fund the building's operation budget.

Because the center was built on city land around an existing swimming pool, the project saved nearly $3.5 million, Lindsley said.

By building in a city park around the pool, the city was able to use its land effectively and share parking, Lindsley said.