Marion City Council to vote on splash pad project

MARION - On Thursday night, the Marion City Council is set to vote on a plan for a new splash pad in Gill Park, on the northwest side of town.

'They're great play features for kids and they're free which is really awesome,” said Jill Ackerman, president of the Marion Chamber of Commerce.

City officials said the project could fill a public need in the area.

'The reason Gill Park was selected was because Gill Park was the furthest away for kids to get to another water feature,” said Mike Carolan, parks director for the City of Marion.

The city has allocated $150,000 of Local-option sales tax funds for the splash pad and the council is expected tonight to approve the timeline for the project.

'Marion's pool is old and we need a new aquatic center or something in the near future, but I think these splash pads are great, they look like a lot of fun,” said Kim Etzel, a Marion City Council member.

The city built a larger splash pad in Thomas Park in 2011. The Thomas Park and the planned Gill Park splash pads are part of an eight-part project dubbed Imagine8. Initiated in 2009, Imagine8 aims to enhance the quality of life and community identity in Marion.

John Larson, project engineer for HBK Engineering, helped design the Gill Park splash pad and said construction might present some challenges.

He said the meek one percent slope toward the pad's center drain is one example.

'A one percent slope is very hard to see with the naked eye,” Larson said. 'So the contractor, when they form it, has to do it very carefully because it's very easy for the slope to tip the opposite way.”

Larson estimates construction costs to range from $50,000 to $60,000. If the council votes to move forward with the project timeline, the city will accept construction bids before the end of the month and then select a contractor by the beginning of August.

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