June 4, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
The splashpad is now open at Green Brook Park and if the first day is any indication it’s going to be a big hit with children.
The mayor and aldermen, joined by other city officials, the Chamber of Commerce, parents, and kids hosted a ribbon cutting for the new splashpad Friday at Green Brook Park just before it opened at noon. The splashpad is open seven days a week from 12 noon until 7 p.m.
“It’s a very exciting day for Smithville. I want to thank the city council for funding this project. I think this will be a great asset and something good for the kids to have to enjoy for years to come. I also want to thank our public works department. They have put a lot of time into this project especially Public Works Director Kevin Robinson and City Administrator Hunter Hendrixson. We did not use an architect with this, so we saved money and there was a lot of time put into this by our administration going over plans. We are proud of it,” said Mayor Josh Miller.
A groundbreaking was held in March for the new 2,400 square foot splashpad. The mayor, aldermen, and other city officials and friends were on hand for that occasion including Jason Stewart and Adam Walton of Recreational Concepts of Cookeville, the company that built the splashpad.
In November, the aldermen awarded the bid and adopted a budget amendment authorizing an expenditure of up to $173,000 for the splashpad. The money for the project was taken from the city’s unreserved fund balance.
“The splashpad is about 2,400 square feet and it has a lot of beautiful above ground features for kids to run through and things that spray and splash along with in-ground features that spray out of the ground. It’s a nice mix for all age groups and abilities. It fills up the space really well especially with the playground and gazebos. It’s a nice addition to the park,” said Walton.
“Like Adam said It’s about 2,400 square feet and has a five-foot apron around the pad that is essentially a dry deck where no water flows and on the inside on the splashpad itself there are above grade and embedded features that spray upward providing an experience for different age groups and ability levels. There are about 28 different features on the pad itself,” said Stewart.
Mayor Miller said the city also plans to refurbish the 25-year-old playground at Green Brook Park soon.
“We have about $50,000 in the budget to start fixing up the playground equipment and refurbishing that. Although the city would have to replace the broken and splintered wood, a professional company could be contracted to refurbish and stain the playground equipment,” he said.