Loyal splash pad effort ongoing; expected cost is at $370,000
The community group that is working toward construction of a “splash pad” water recreation facility in Loyal’s Westside Community Park was initially hoping to break ground next summer. That plan may have been a bit ambitious, especially with the city government deciding it would rather support a more expensive system that recirculates water.
Group member Kaila Fitzl was at the City Council’s May 20 monthly meeting, and said fund-raising work is ongoing but not yet close to the $370,000 price tag of the project. The plan is to install the splash pad -- which is a concrete area containing multiple stations with various types of water features for children -- just south of the large shelter in the Westside Community Park. The group is not asking the city for money, but needs its backing to apply for various recreation grants.
The Council has given its support for the project, but reviewed initial plans and eventually decided a system that reuses water would be the best option. It costs approximately $100,000 more to build than would a system that does not recapture and recycle water, but the annual operational savings would be reduced from around $30,000 a year to less than $6,000.
“It’d be cheaper in the long run to have the recirculating system,” Fitzl said.
The Council next month will consider action to accept the Clark County Community Foundation as a fiscal agent for the project. All funds raised by the local group would be placed in a Foundation account, and then doled out again when the project actually begins. The Foundation would charge a 2.5 percent fee for its services.
Fund-raising for the project has started with various smaller efforts underway. The group has been collecting used shoes, which will be sold to an organization that sends them to Haiti for residents there to wear. The goal of that project was to collect 100 bags of shoes (with 25 pairs each), but 121 bags had already been filled by last week. The shoes will be hauled away later this week, with the group to receive 40 cents per pound for them. It was told that would translate into about $1,000, at 100 bags.
The group is also selling engraved bricks that will be placed around the finished splash pad. Those sell in three sizes -- a 4X8-inch for $50, an 8X8-inch for $100, and a 12X12-inch for $250 -- and are bringing in revenue. Fitzl said the brick sales have generated more than $3,500 in profit so far.
Another revenue-raising idea is to sell sponsorships for the various individual features to be contained in the splash pad.
While the group has been conducting the smaller fund-raisers so far, it has its eyes on bigger donations in the future. Once it gets the Community Foundation offi cially involved, it can begin to write grant applications and approach more organizations for possible donations.
“We have not started to talk to any businesses yet,” Fitzl said.
One thing the group has started is to reach out to other communities in Clark County in an effort to make the splash pad a more regional project. There is no other facility in the county like it, and since families from towns other than Loyal will come to use it, Fitzl said she is hopeful those other communities will get behind the effort.
“We would like all Clark County communities to be a part of this,” she said. “If everybody pitches in, we will get to our goal faster.”
The group will likely not need to get all the way to the $370,000 figure, as local businesses could decide to donate by handling some of the work involved in construction, such as excavation, concrete work, labor, etc.
“We’re hoping, obviously, to get some in-kind donations,” Fitzl said.
The timeline for the splash pad is largely dependent on how fast money can be raised. The group first approached the city last year about possible placement in the park, and only started fund-raising in the last several months. The decision to go with the recirculating system will delay eventual construction.
“We were shooting for next summer, but now the cost went up $100,000, so I’m thinking a little longer than that,” Fitzl said.
