(Arnolds Park)– Officials with the Arnolds Park Amusement Park today (Friday) celebrated completion of a new dormitory building that will house their summer help and international students. CEO Jon Pausley tells KUOO news it was long overdue…
“The accommodations have not always been wonderful for them. We want to make sure they’re safe, that they’re close to work and protected, they’re not riding their bikes late at night or across Highway 71, so safety for the community. And then pass it along, happy employees to happy customers. And so we really feel like taking care of them the way we should not just as workers but as people that live here and serve us, our community, we want to make sure they’re safe and comfortable. So a huge day. Lots of planning. A quick turnaround of time and build: seven months and two days, which is amazing. And so we’re just more than thrilled to be able to have this great addition to Arnolds Park.”
Pausley says the dorm rooms pretty much have all the comforts of home…
“So every room is a double occupancy, has its own microwave and mini fridge, has it’s own wardrobe, so these kids really feel like a dormitory would. We’ve got common bathrooms and kitchen spaces on every floor so they can cook their own food and have a place to relax, to hang out, watch t.v., have fun and enjoy themselves and a laundry on every floor, common cooking on every floor, and then also on every floor we have individual units that are for resident assistants, our R-A’s, who really help us watch over the dormitory and they have their own one-bedroom apartments in there so they have their own cooking space, their private area to be able to help take care of the students that live here as well.”
Pausley says the reactions from the students have been priceless…
“One student walked in yesterday took one look around and simply said wow, this is luxury! And so that was the exact response we wanted them to have.”
Pausley adds their summer students are still arriving…
“We’ve got about two-thirds of them here, we’ve got about 60 of them here, waiting for about 40 more. So the occupancy on the dorm is about 120 and over the course of the summer we’ll get pretty close to maxing out that capacity.”
Pausley thanked everyone who made the project possible, including the city of Arnolds Park and Eagle Construction, the general contractor.
