Town Council gives green light for Splash Pad in Lewis & Clark Park

The Stevensville Town Council heard a proposal from the Stevensville Civic Club at the Council's regular meeting on Thursday, February 25th, that sought approval to locate a splash pad in Lewis & Clark Park. The project was already endorsed by the Town's Park Board and Parks and Recreation Director.

Joan Prather, President of the Civic Club, presented the Town Council with the proposal. The splash pad will be an approximately 1,000 square foot aquatics attraction geared for children of a variety of ages. The attraction is free to users and the water features activate on timers when users are present. Prather said that the splash pad will have areas that serve specific age groups, with gentler features for smaller children and more active features like dumping buckets for older kids.  

Mayor Brandon Dewey said the Civic Club's project compliments the Town's existing swimming pool in great ways. "We do not have a zero entry swimming pool and that poses some challenges for some kids who are not quite comfortable getting into the water but want to enjoy water recreation in the summertime." Mayor Dewey said the project fills a gap for families with very young children that the Town's facilities do not currently provide for. 

The project is estimated to cost a total of $120,809. At the meeting, Prather provided a breakdown in her proposal that included $33,407 in equipment and features, and an additional $87,401 in installation and site work. The cost of the project would increase by $25,000 if a water recirculating system were included with the project. That system would reduce the water consumption of the splash pad by treating and recirculating the water that the attraction uses, instead of consistently using fresh water. Prather said that the Civic Club will begin formal fundraising efforts for the project once they have the approval for the location and a commitment for maintenance from the Town Council. The club has already raised $17,000 toward the project from donors who are excited about the project. Prather said she hopes for local in-kind donations for the project, and any cash spent on the project will be spent locally wherever possible. 
 

Councilmember Jaimie Devlin noted that it was the community who chose this project for the Civic Club to pursue and Councilmember Patrick Shourd thanked the Civic Club for bringing the proposal forward. Councilmember Paul Ludington ultimately moved that the Town approve and encourage the project and that motion passed unanimously. Mayor Dewey said that he would work towards and agreement with the Civic Club that details the relationship in the project and future maintenance considerations including the water usage of the attraction. 

Organized in 1953, the Stevensville Civic Club is a non-profit organization that carries a focus on the people of our community, projects that improve the place we live, and partnerships with our neighbors and community organizations. Membership dues are $20.00 annually and the club continually seeks new members from the community and surrounding area. 

Anyone interested in donating to the project can contact Victoria Howell at victoriahowell53@gmail.com.

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