Splash pad likely to open in mid-September

August 22, 2008 05:51 pm

— By Adam Smith
The North Jefferson News

Gardendale will soon be home to one of the only splash pad water attractions in Jefferson County. However, residents may have to wait a few more weeks to reap the benefits.
Gardendale Parks and Recreation Superintendent Stan Hogeland said the target date for the completion of the project was Labor Day. However, he said delays in equipment deliveries have made it impossible to have the park open by then.
He said the city will now aim for a Sept. 12 opening date, complete with a ribbon cutting ceremony. He said he’d like for the park to be open sooner, just for the sake of the children who have been watching the progress from outside a fence at Celebration Park, where the splash pad will be located.
“There’s always a row of kids hanging on that fence like they’re dying in anticipation of that opening,” he said. “There’s not many of these around and only a couple in Jefferson County. We anticipate it will be heavily used.”
The other splash park in the county is located in Trussville. Gardendale’s pad will be about 4,000 square feet and will accommodate about 300 children.
Other plans for the park area will include an additional pavilion and picnic tables and two shaded areas that will be built into the pad.
Hogeland said even though the pad will be opening later than expected, it will still likely get plenty of use before it shuts down in October.
“Based on our climate, I anticipate it being used,” he said. “There will be some days that a cold front comes through that it won’t be used.”
The $198,000 project was approved by the Gardendale City Council in June. J.A. Dawson and Co. out of Pelham was awarded the bid. The council had budgeted $200,000 for the pad and $50,000 for installation and infrastructure work at the site.
Hogeland said he felt confident the project could be completed for less. He said the city saved about $100,000 through acting as a general contractor and employing workers from the parks and recreation department to construct the pad.
He said even though city workers are constructing the pad, representatives from J.A. Dawson and Co. make weekly site visits to find out how the project is progressing.
“The popularity of this is going to be unlike anything we’ve ever built,” he said. “The mayor and council have worked hard to increase our recreational areas and this will be the most popular thing we’ve done in several years.”

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