At its February 25th meeting, the Stevensville Town Council approved a splash deck proposal put forward by the Stevensville Civic Club.
According to Civic Club president Joan Prather, the club has declared the splash deck as a major project. “I think this will be a huge, wonderful addition to Lewis & Clark Park,” and perhaps eventually at Father Ravalli Park, said Prather. “We are here to ask permission from the council.”
Prather said that some funds are already committed, and that the fundraising part of the project would be up to the club. “The type of funding we would be going for would be patterned after the Bear Mountain Playground project,” said Prather, “with a significant amount of community donations.”
The cost estimate is $33,407 for the equipment and $87,402 for construction and installation, for a total of $120,809, said Prather. A water recirculation system would add another $25,000, an option that council members were interested in pursuing.
“What we would be looking at from the city would be possible help from city maintenance people,” said Prather, “similar to what the Main Street Association did when the streetscape project was done.”
The location at Lewis & Clark Park encompasses about 1000-1200 feet for the splash deck, plus an additional 300 square feet for some shaded areas with tables and chairs, as well as an ADA ramp area. The entire area is roughly 60 by 60 feet square in the open area adjacent to the sidewalk going into Bear Mountain Playground. There would be a variety of water features that work on timers, with different features appropriate for various ages.
Victoria Howell, Civic Club treasurer, said that to date about $17,000 has been raised for the project. She noted that the Civic Club “didn’t feel it was appropriate to start seriously asking for donations from people until we got the approval of the council.”
Howell also said that this is going to be nice because it will be totally free, unlike the pool, and will be safe for all ages. “This is a very popular thing,” she said. “People really like this idea.”
Prather emphasized that the club was not asking for any funding from the Town, but only for some in-kind help with equipment or anything else the Town might want to provide. Maintenance after the splash deck is installed would fall to the Town.
According to Prather, Civic Club representatives had met previously with Bobby Sonsteng, director of the Parks and Recreation department, as well as the Park Board, and both were on board with the proposal.
Prather said that the possibility of a splash deck was raised over a year ago through an informal survey of club and community members about potential major projects that the club might want to pursue and had been simmering on the back burner through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This project would really complement our swimming pool in a great way,” said Mayor Brandon Dewey. “Our swimming pool doesn’t accommodate people under two feet in height. This offers an option for people with very young children. It’s a piece that’s missing in our current aquatic facility, which is not zero entry or kid-friendly for children who are still getting acquainted with water. That’s why the administration supports this project.”
The council voted unanimously to approve the splash deck project.
Victoria Howell can be contacted at victoriahowell53@gmail.com or (406)207-8793.