Splash pad ribbon cutting ceremony next Tuesday
Published 7:34 pm Thursday, August 9, 2018
City officials are planning a Tuesday ribbon cutting ceremony for the new splash pad at the Art Park at Catfish Row, South Ward Alderman Alex Monsour said.
“The ribbon cutting is tentatively set for 8 p.m.; that’s about the time it starts getting dark,” he said. “The chamber (of commerce) and everybody will be there.”
He said the contractor has to pour a small strip of concrete over an area where an old PVC pipe burst, “And we’ve got to do a few things in the bathroom area and mount a couple of speakers. We’ve already tested the water pressure and we have to do a night test.”
Monsour said he also plans to have contractor Planet Recess train him and two other people on the splash pad’s operation.
The opening ceremony was planned for last week, but plans were quickly scrapped after a leak was discovered near the restroom. The broken pipe was replaced and the system tested a second time for leaks.
The new pad replaced the original splash pad that for 15 years was a popular and well-used attraction for the city, but was shut down last year for almost one month in 2017, from June 30 to July 26, while city workers installed rebuilt pumps and filter motors. It was later demolished because of problems with the pad’s pipe system.
The new pad will have colored lights with the water movement synchronized to music.
In another matter, Monsour said officials are still waiting for a stabilizer bar and a chain that hooks to the bottom of one of the pieces of playground equipment to stabilize the set at Riverfront Park. The city has delayed reopening the park, which has been closed since December, until the playground equipment is fixed because of safety concerns.
Riverfront Park was closed in December to repair a slide area and install new playground equipment and a new surface on the play areas.
Repairs at the park were delayed after oil believed left over from a former oil storage tank farm was discovered at the site, forcing the project to be shut down for several months until the oil and the remnants of old slabs and a retaining wall on site were removed.