By By Kerry Whipple Bean
publisher
While a splash pad water fountain sounds like sweet relief from the heat right now, Brewton residents will have to wait a couple more months.
The Brewton City Council on Tuesday approved a bid from J.A. Dawson of Pelham to build the splash pad at Dogwood Hills. The company, which has partnered with acquatic equipment company Waterplay, submitted the low bid of $155,997.91.
The project would likely be complete by the end of August.
Hill said the city has worked with J.A. Dawson on other projects, as has the Brewton City Board of Education.
Last spring, the city allocated $175,000 to the recreation board to build a splash pad at Dogwood Hills, which is already the site of a pool, playground and now a gazebo since the relocation of the old gazebo from the City Park.
According to Waterplay’s Web site, a splash pad or spray park is “a zero-depth children’s play area where water is sprayed from upright structures or ground sprays and then drained before it can accumulate.”
City recreation officials have said a splash pad is cheaper and safer to maintain than a pool, so it can be open for a longer timeframe than the Dogwood Hills pool.
The funds for the splash pad came from the sale of land to the city board of education for a new middle school.
Recreation funds were also allocated to Sportsman Park and set aside for the possibility of a new community center at the old middle school.