Spinitar - Paradise Recreation and Park District

The Client

The Paradise Recreation and Park District is an independent special district serving the town of Paradise and the surrounding Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California. The district plays a key role in providing local communities with a variety of public services, including swimming pools, fishing ponds, youth activities, and recreational needs.

Paradise is a small-town located in California approximately two hours away from the capital city of Sacramento. In November of 2018 the town had a population of 28,000 people before the nation’s deadliest wildfire in nearly a century swept through the community, leaving thousands of people with nowhere to return home to and nowhere to work. 24,000 people were displaced from the community leaving only 4,000 residents in the town.

The town of Paradise and its neighboring communities rely heavily on the Paradise Recreation and Park District for public service needs, however, the massive “Camp Fire” left the town in shambles causing damage and dysfunction to many local buildings and public facilities.

The Challenge

The “Camp Fire” caused over 90% of Paradise’s structures to be destroyed or damaged. Nearly a year after the blaze, the town was still littered with debris and many local residents were stuck living in temporary housing units. People had nowhere to go for activities, gatherings, or even to get married. As massive rebuilding projects began, the town struggled to renovate and upgrade existing local infrastructures with limited budgetary resources. 

The Paradise Recreation and Park District community center miraculously survived the fire, but it lacked the AV technologies and resources needed for regenerating the spirit of the town. The recreational district sought to update the site’s audiovisual capabilities with a long-term goal of rebuilding and increasing local tourism. 

Community leaders sought to improve AV infrastructural needs in order to help modernize the local center. Logistically, the building is a three space structure consisting of only an AV room and two smaller multi-purpose rooms. They wanted each room to allow for public discussion and visual presentations, but neither of the spaces had the appropriate AV technological capabilities needed to accomplish these objectives. 

The existing AV infrastructure lacked the interface and components necessary for creating a cohesive, user-friendly digital environment. The Paradise Recreation and Park District within the Town of Paradise were in need of high-tech AV solutions within their local community center and reached out to Spinitar for their expertise. 

Spinitar, a leader in AV solutions, was humbled by the opportunity they were presented with and proudly offered their support to help rebuild a community that had been left in dire straits. As an organization who believes in giving back to the communities in which they do business, Spinitar was honored to donate their time and services to a community in need of creating better experiences and better outcomes for their citizens.

The Purpose

Although the Paradise Recreation and Park District community center remained intact after the fires hit, the building still lacked modernized technological capabilities. Spinitar offered it’s services at no cost to the Paradise Recreation and Park District as a means to developing an AV system that could help spur local economic growth and tourism. 

The district needed several AV system upgrades for it’s community center. Reliable AV solutions at the community center would allow locals to participate in town hall meetings, activities, social events, and even wedding ceremonies. 

When given the opportunity to help rebuild the local community, the Spinitar team stepped into gear to help the Paradise Recreation and Park District achieve their vision for the future. Spinitar reached out to their manufacturer partners and collectively came together to offer their services and equipment at no cost to the Paradise Recreation and Park District community. 

Spinitar believed that providing modern AV solutions could offer the town a stepping stone to help jumpstart their future growth. They provided AV recommendations to best suit the needs of the community moving forward. Using the latest AV technology available, they were able to create innovative changes to help the Town of Paradise forward.

The Technology

Local community officials knew that technological upgrades were needed. The community center survived fire damage yet was still severely lacking in AV innovations. The Paradise Recreation and Park District worked closely with Spinitar to completely overhaul their AV and network capabilities by implementing the most advanced technologies.

The community center consisted of three main rooms; the AV space and two additional rooms. Each of these rooms needed to have the ability for holding public discussions, giving individuals the platform for presentations, if necessary.

The existing AV room lacked sufficient technological capabilities, therefore upgrades were needed to enhance current AV environments. 

Let's take a look at some of the innovative upgrades Spinitar used to help enhance the local community center.

AV Room Enhancements:

Projection Screen: multi-layer optical surface technology uses projection screens to reject light from all directions except the projector. The result is images that are 7 times the contrast of standard white screens. A 119” Da-Lite Parallax 16:9 Projection Screen replaced the existing manual screen. The screen can be viewed day or night, at any angle with better contrast without multiple LCDs or video walls. It now allows users to easily view presentations at a distance. 

Ceiling Mounted Projector: The Epson PRO 1100U Projector was installed creating Full HD resolution on a 119” screen. Using laser-based light source technology, 6000 Lumen of brightness will provide over 20,000 hours of virtually maintenance free operation. It was hung with a Legrand/Chief projector mount.

Video Switching System: Crestron DM-NVX-351 Network AV Encoders & Decoders along with the Luxul Managed GigE POE+ Ethernet Switch were installed allowing for program audio and video signals to flow smoothly and switch easily to the Projector and Audio System.

Audio System: The system was refreshed and supplemented with modern components and a simplified controller. A new Audio Switcher/Mixer was provided in the form of an Allen and Heath GR4 Mixer and PL-14 Controller. Auxiliary Audio inputs and an AtteroTech Bluetooth interface were installed using Extron Architectural solutions.

Wireless Microphones: Shure provided QLXD Wireless Handheld and Lavalier Microphones with rechargeable batteries and charging bay.

Automated Video System: A Crestron controller was programmed to sense when users connect to HDMI inputs and automatically route video, turn on the projector and lower the screen.

Room C&D Enhancements

Portable Interactive Display: Each room received a Samsung QB75N-W 75” Portable Interactive Display on a cart with motorized lift. The display allows for annotation over video or use as a white board. 

Display Stand: The Legrand/Chief XPD1U Display Stand with Electric Lift allows the display to be easily raised or lowered using preset positions.

The Results

Spinitar and their manufacturer partners were able to provide and install AV equipment at the Paradise Recreation and Park District within the Town of Paradise at no charge. Although the district was expecting Spinitar to charge for their services, they were completely shocked by the company’s generous donations. 

The Paradise Recreation and Park District within the Town of Paradise was impressed by the newly updated audiovisual capabilities and user-friendly technologies. The completed project went above and beyond initial expectations.

The Paradise Recreation and Park District is beyond thrilled with their new technological setup and enhanced AV capabilities. Having a reliable audiovisual system in place will better serve its local constituents moving forward. The updated technology will allow the center to be used for a variety of functions including internal meetings, non-profit endeavors, events, and programs. 

Spinitar was able to sufficiently install massive upgrades which can help the district extend and improve functionalities to other surrounding areas and buildings. Spinitar looks forward to hearing more about how the community center will be used in the years to come.