Construction began this week on the Riverton Splash Pad, a project that has been in the making for roughly 3 years.
The City Park water feature will allow community children another opportunity for recreation, and a spot to cool down during the warmer months.
One of the splash pad organizers, Kristina Olson, spoke Wednesday morning at the Riverton Economic Development Community Association meeting inside of the Sundowner Station.
Olson said the construction team has assured organizers that most of the water feature will be installed by the end of November, however, the above-ground features will likely be spring projects.
She also pointed out that the splash pad team is hoping to host a grand opening party when the feature is ready to go, likely near the end of spring or early summer. She noted they were looking at the last week of school as a target date for the opening.
Kristina said the project really took off after a social media campaign gathered hundreds of people interested in a splash pad together in a short time. Several organizers and community members created a plan for the feature in Riverton’s City Park. The team worked with the City of Riverton, local businesses, and residents to help raise funds. A major grant for the project was assisted by the City of Riverton, and organizers helped write several smaller grants. Local business sponsorship and community member donations helped finish the fundraising efforts.
The overall construction estimate to the project tallied $256,754 in August. An extra “design estimate” tallied at $32,650. Efforts to reduce that price and continued fundraising dropped the overall estimate in September to $248,956. The community group gathered roughly $17,000 in excess of that estimate through donations. If there are excess funds left over after construction, the group hopes to add benches, a shade structure, sponsor sign, and possibly a water fountain.
Olson described the design Wednesday as a “hot air balloon-like shape” The splash pad will feature two water guns, two rain bars, two “sprite fountains,” a “whacky water whiz” feature, a “flow jet” feature, and a “bucket drop.” The water feature area itself will be 6,850 square feet. There is a 5′ concrete apron around the feature that will be 570 square feet.
