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Milton eyeing splash park in Goodrich Park

Photo

Tony DiNicola

Proposed sites for splash park

MILTON — The city of Milton is considering a $300,000 plan to build a splash park in South Goodrich Park.

A steering committee has forwarded the plan to the Milton city council, which could decide today whether to request designs and costs for the splash park.

A splash park is listed as part of the Goodrich Square concept, a plan the city developed last year to turn the Goodrich Park area into a center of commerce and recreation on the city’s east side.

According to city records, the splash park could cost $200,000 to $300,000. It could be paid for through money from tax increment, although the city council first would have to approve plans and a budget for the project and find an appropriate location.

Possible locations are at the northwest end and the far south side of South Goodrich Park.

The Goodrich Square Steering Committee, an ad hoc committee, earlier this year was eying renovations to the Community House, which is on the north side of Goodrich Park. The committee envisioned the renovations as a starting point for work on the Goodrich Square project but later learned the plan could not be funded with TIF money.

The committee has now shifted its focus to a splash park while it pursues other funding for work at the Community House.

“Everybody wants to see things happening in Goodrich Square. It’s important to keep some momentum going,” said Gail Nordlof, a member of the steering committee. “Since we couldn’t do the community house on TIF funds, the splash park seemed like the next logical thing to do.”

Burbrach Aquatics, a company that designs splash parks, contacted the steering committee earlier this month. Nordlof said the company gave a presentation with examples of splash parks with a 5,000-square-foot footprint. Base cost is about $125,000, Nordlof said.

The committee has chosen no specific designs, but the splash park could include fountains, ground fountains that shoot water and geometric features, Nordlof said.

Nordlof said the steering committee wants to make sure the splash park wouldn’t detract from surroundings near Goodrich Park.

She said the committee seeks designs that “would fit the more formal historic nature of the park and area, rather than having Disney characters, or animals, or mushrooms or some of the other things” that are common in other splash parks.