Peru approves $93,400 for Washington Park splash pad

With the smell of spring lingering in the air, the city of Peru already is preparing for the season by renewing the splash pad at Washington Park.

The Peru City Council approved a $93,400 bid from Raindrop, a company out of Ohio, during Monday night’s meeting.

Parks and Recreation Director Adam Thorson said the city has some maintenance that needs to be completed prior to the splash pad opening later this year.

“It’s showing its age now — it was built in 2017,” he said. “So, eight years old. It’s just wear and tear. We just need to replace a lot of pieces to get it up and running to the speed it should be up.”

The splash pad will have upgrades to mostly the ground features; such as the sprayers and nozzles, Thorson said. Some will be replaced and the city will have backup on hand for the ones working well.

The first base, Tic-Tac-Toe feature will also be replaced with no noticeable difference.

Alderman Jason Edgcomb said this is the first time major improvements have been made to the park since its completion.

Mayor Ken Kolowski said the work that will be completed is necessary repairs, but the most important aspect is the city will now be starting a yearly maintenance program. Moving forward, the city will invest in the park in smaller chunks instead of large chunks.

Thorson said the goal is to break it up to about $10,000 to $15,000 every other year to not have this large of an expense every eight years.

“I think that’s pretty good for an eight-year facility,” Alderman Mike Sapienza said. “I understand as it gets older, it’s going to require more and $10,000 to $15,000 a year for maintenance on something like that— it’s pretty good.”

The city is hoping to have the splash pad open by Memorial Day weekend.