Stevensville splash pad fund drive kicks off

The Stevensville Civic Club and the Town of Stevensville held a symbolic groundbreaking last Friday to kick off a major fund drive to build a splash pad at Lewis & Clark Park. Project organizers hope to have the splash pad installed this summer and perhaps even open by August.

“This is a fun, fun project,” said Joan Prather, chair of the Stevensville Civic Club’s splash pad committee. “We’re working with Project 59870 to raise the money for this. Kids are going to have a fantastic time here.”

The project was chosen by the Civic Club last year but got a slow start due to the challenges of COVID-19. Now the committee is off and running, with the first installment of the $145,000 cost already sent to the company handling the design and installation of the components. The splash pad will feature a “trout” theme and will be built adjacent to the Bear Mountain Playground. It will include six water features as well as areas for shade and viewing. The project will be handicapped-accessible. The splash pad will be free and open to all ages. A recirculating water system will be utilized.

“We’ve gotten great support from the city,” said Prather.

“This is a super dooper complement to our pool,” said Mayor Brandon Dewey. He said that the Town’s pool does not serve the community’s youngest children very well because it does not have an area where kids can be easily introduced to water play. The splash pad will address this need.

The non-profit Project 59870 is directing its energy to help raise the necessary funding to get the splash pad built this summer. To that end, Project 59870 and the Civic Club have pledged to match all funds raised up to $25,000, which will result in the first $50,000 raised towards the cost. A GoFundMe page has been set up at https://www.gofundme.com/f/splash-pad-for-stevensville and letters are going out to businesses and individuals this week requesting donations. The group is also looking for in-kind help with parts of the construction, such as cement work, plumbing and electrical work.

“It’s important that we raise as much as we can as quick as we can,” said Dewey. “This will be a remarkable addition to Lewis & Clark Park.”