After years of community fundraising, the Depot Park Splash Pad will open on Saturday, July 8th, at 11:30 am! The Ribbon Cutting will take place as part of SummerFest and include representatives from the City of Rawlins, Rawlins DDA/Main Street, and the Community Splash Pad Committee. The Splash Pad will be open on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 11 am to 7 pm until further notice based on water availability/restrictions.
The idea for a Splash Pad was brought to Rawlins DDA/Main Street in 2012 by a City Councilman. In 2014, Wyoming Main Street Technical Assistance Funds were used to study the feasibility of a Splash Pad in Depot Park. This study concluded that it was a feasible site with water and electricity. It also shared that the maintenance costs of the Splash Pad would be similar to the cost of the existing fountain, which was in need of updating and safety improvements.
After identifying this as a viable project, Rawlins DDA/Main Street conducted a community survey in January 2015 to find a focus for their annual project fundraising efforts – the Splash Pad was the plain winner. The City Council approved the project in March 2015. Rawlins DDA/Main Street raised funds for the Splash Pad during the 2015-2019 Passion and Pride Balls from business, industry, and individual donors, totaling $120,000. A community Splash Pad committee was formed to complete the final design, which went out to initial bid in 2020.
The Splash Pad construction is an example of community contractors working together to create a community asset. The original bid was for a Design-Build, which required a Splash Pad company to oversee all of the work for the entire project. After bids came back well over budget, the project was divided into three components that would be bid on and then completed by different companies. The utility and restoration City of Rawlins contracts were completed by 71 Construction and NatureScapes. Acme Electric, Silver Sage Plumbing, Mass Grading, and Wild Services also assisted in the work, all Rawlins companies. The splash pad was installed by Splash Zone, LLC of Mesa, AZ. The final cost of the Splash Pad was just over $200,000, and the final $80,000 was contributed by the City of Rawlins. Rawlins DDA/Main Street will present a check for $120,000 to City Council from community fundraising at the Council meeting on Wednesday, July 5th, 2023, at 7:30 pm.
The Splash Pad is thirty feet in diameter and includes multiple in-ground nozzles set at various heights and sprays, six LED multi-colored lights, and two jelly sticks. The pad itself is blue, and the jelly sticks are custom colored in Rawlins Red. It is user-activated by pressing a foot pad. On average, a splash pad uses approximately the same amount of water in a week as watering all yards within one residential block for a week. Small commercial splash pads typically use around 5,000-10,000 gallons per day.
Interested in receiving news from the City? Sign up for news via email or text at www.rawlinswy.gov/notifyme under “City of Rawlins News.” For more information, please contact Mira Miller, City of Rawlins Community Relations/PIO, at 307-328-4500 ext. 1022.
