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Youngstown council will consider legislation to pay $140,000 for two splash pads
YOUNGSTOWN
City council will consider legislation today to pay $140,000 toward the cost of installing splash pads at two city parks.
Council also will vote to authorize the acceptance of $35,000 from the Youngstown Foundation’s Hine Memorial Fund for the same projects.
The work at the splash pads that shoot and spray water at John White Park on the East Side and Homestead Park on the South Side is done, said Robert Burke, the city’s park and recreation director.
The splash pads will be used next year, starting around Memorial Day – or earlier if the weather cooperates – and running through about Labor Day, Burke said.
Vortex, a company from Williamston, Mich., installed the splash pads, which shoot and spray water from sprinklers, for about $140,000. The rest of the $35,000 in expenses went toward making sidewalks near the location compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, electrical and plumbing work.
“It’s a great addition to both parks,” Burke said. “My goal is for two more splash pads next year with one on the West Side and another one on the South Side. But I’m uncertain it will happen because” of finances.
The city received a $120,000 grant from the Hine Memorial Fund in 2014 for playground equipment at Wick Park on the North Side.
Hine provides money for therapeutic services and projects for children with medically diagnosed disabilities in Youngstown. The Wick playground is handicapped accessible, and the splash pads are designed for use by all children, Burke said.
The city sought $170,000 from Hine, but received $35,000.
Also today, city council will consider legislation to let a Chicago company manage three seldom-used parks and a section of a fourth.
Fresh Coast Capital would use the locations to plant poplar trees and harvest them in 12 to 15 years, Burke said. The company would also plant bushes and plants, he said.
The locations are: Tod Park on the North Side, Kochis Field on the West Side, and Stambaugh Field and the lower portion of Gibson Field, both on the South Side. The upper portion of Gibson Field will continue to be used, Burke said.
Fresh Coast describes itself on its website as “an impact-driven real-estate investment firm that redevelops highly-distressed vacant properties into working landscapes such as tree farms, urban agriculture and other green infrastructure projects that revitalize neighborhoods, clean up soil and groundwater, and increase land values.”
Earlier this year, Fresh Coast landscaped portions of Gary, Ind., and Flint, Mich.