Lebanon opens county’s first splash pad at Southwest Park

The City of Lebanon held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a splash pad at Southwest Park Wednesday afternoon.

Weather permitting, the pad will be open until Sept. 18. The park is located at 1400 Elder St.

Though the project was predicted to be done by late May, harsh weather and supply chain issues pushed back construction. Then, a July opening was pushed back, Mayor Sherry Capello explained, due to startup issues.

Last week, she said, the city received its license to operate the pad and immediately planned a grand opening.

“I want to thank everyone who had a role in making this project a reality, from the initial conversations of planning and design and construction, and especially those who worked through the many unexpected challenges that arose along the way,” Capello said during Wednesday’s ceremony. “Instead of allowing those obstacles to stop the project, everyone kept working towards solutions so that we could reach this day.”

“There’s an old saying that all good things take time. I think that saying certainly applies today. And looking at this beautiful facility and knowing the smiles, laughter, and memories that will be created here, I think we can all agree that it’s worth the wait.”

The idea for the around-$1,000,000 project, paid for with $300,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds and funds from the city’s capital reserves, originated while the city was figuring out plans for the former site of the Gingrich Memorial Swimming Pool. As the pool was no longer financially feasible to run due to declining attendance, rising costs, and a deteriorating structure, the city looked for feedback on alternative recreation projects.

Capello explained that residents, both adults and kids, said they wanted a splash pad and a dog park. Though the splash pad was initially planned for Coleman Memorial Park and the dog park for Southwest Park, the two were ultimately swapped.

The splash pad, like the recently-unveiled dog park, is the first of its kind in the county.

Though the ceremony was first planned for 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, it was pushed back to 3 p.m. due to rain, which Lebanon City Council chair Brian Martin said was fitting considering the delays to the project. Martin’s son Jack was one of two kids who christened the splash pad.

Capello thanked Steckbeck Engineering for their work on the project.

The city also worked with Rain Drop Products on the pad’s design, which includes a slide, multiple sprinklers and fountains, and other water fixtures.

County Commissioners Jo Ellen Litz and Mike Kuhn, Dan Bost of state Senator Chris Gebhard’s office, Madison Colaco of Congressman Dan Meuser’s office, and state Rep. John Schlegel were all in attendance and congratulated the city on the project’s completion.