City discusses splash pad use
Phil Reynolds/The Highlander
Cottonwood Shores' splash pad, next door to the community center, awaits activity on a recent Friday afternoon. The city council Thursday agreed to let the pad open five days a week, with any increased water use to be absorbed in the Parks Department budget.
By Phil Reynolds
The Highlander
Cottonwood Shores city council members agreed Thursday to let the city’s parks department expand open days for the splash pad by two additional days. The catch is that any additional water use has to be paid for out of the parks and recreation budget.
The move means the splash pad will be open every day from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. except for Tuesdays and Thursdays. New days and hours are effective immediately.
Cottonwood Shores Mayor Donald Orr said he thought the change wouldn’t mean a drastic increase in water use, at least partly because the water is turned on at the pad only by users activating it. No water is used when the pad isn’t being used.
Council members complained at the time that the splash pad suffers from misuse in that the restrooms are dirty – “a mess,” one council member said. The city has problems finding people to clean the area, the council said.
The splash pad is on the site of a former swimming pool which was filled in when maintenance became too much of a problem. Use of the splash pad has been spotty, despite school being out. On Friday afternoon, no one was using the pad.
