Kids are going to be breaking open their piggy banks all over Ketchum.
Fundraising is underway for a proposed Splash Pad at Atkinson Park. The aquatic playground would have all sorts of features, making it practically perfect for frolicking on a sunny summer day.
Preliminary plans pencil in fountains, water fence, touch-and-go, splash-o-lator, mushroom maze, water sprout and baby long legs.
The 633-square-foot park is planned for the park's recreation center where the volleyball court is now located. Plans call for the volleyball court to be moved to a nearby location.
"That way it will be adjacent to the playground," said Kirk Mason, park director.
Mason said he came up with the idea after watching kids play at in the fountain at Memory Park in Ketchum, and seeing numerous publications promoting water parks.
"The kids are always running through the sprinklers in the summer and this way they won't ruin the grass," Mason said
Initially, Mason received some renditions from a design company back east and turned them over to Ketchum city planner Steven Yearsely, who has been working with Recreation Idaho, a company in Boise.
"There are hundreds of different things you can do," Mason said.
"Since it can be windy here we will probably limit it to just one thing that spills water. We will have more things shooting out of the ground."
Mason said the water would be recycled and treated with an automatic ozone purification system. He also expects to heat it—probably to the mid-60s—so it's not freezing cold.
To cut down on operating costs, all the features will be "on demand" meaning you have to push a button or lever to make them work.
"That way the water won't be running if no one is there and it will save energy," Mason said.
The minimum cost for the aquatic playground at Atkinson Park is $150,000, but Mason said fundraising chairperson Jeffra Syms hopes to garner $175,000 to build a slightly bigger park with more features.
Mason said if organizers can generate the money needed to build the water park, construction will begin this spring and could be done in one month.
"We're being optimistic," he said.
A longtime employee with the City of Ketchum at Atkinson Park, Mason knows firsthand the use a splash pad would get.
"Every daycare comes down here and with all the kids we have in our programs, plus the kids and families in town, I think it would be used quite a bit. It's safer for the kids than Cimino (Memory) Park because they are contained and don't have to walk across the highway," Mason said.
"I think it will be a real hit."
If you would like to make a donation for the Splash Pad at Atkinson Park, please contact Mason at 726-7820, or send a check to Splash Pad Fund, P.O. Box 2315, Ketchum, ID. 83340.
