MAUMELLE — Residents in Maumelle will see a splash pad being built prior to an all-inclusive playground that’s part of the project, said Dave Roberts, director of planning for Crafton-Tull.
Roberts, who lives in Maumelle, designed the proposed $800,000 playground and splash pad, but he said “funding has been very slow on the playground.”
Although the city is still working on getting money for the playground, “there’s just not been that big company give we were hoping for,” Roberts said.
To date, about $129,000 has been earmarked for the project, which started at the end of 2018. The project is planned for city-owned property at Lake Pointe Place and Lake Pointe Drive near the tennis courts, City Hall and the library. Plans also include the expansion of a bathroom on the site.
“We’ve shifted gears to make it specifically for the splash pad. It’s all going to happen; it’s just a matter of when,” he said. “Since the splash pad is only [about] 1/3 of the total estimated cost, and since we received some funding from a grant that required it to be used within one year — it makes sense to pick the lower-hanging fruit and do the splash pad first.”
The splash pad is estimated to cost approximately $200,000, Roberts said.
Phillip Raborn, director of the Maumelle Parks and Recreation Department, said the key now is a $140,000 matching grant submitted this month to the Blue & You Foundation, part of Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The committee will be notified in November with the result.
“If that goes through in November and we get accepted, hopefully, we’d be able to start [building the splash pad] in the spring,” Raborn said. “If we receive that [grant], we would have enough to start the splash pad and continue to start raising money for the all-inclusive playground.”
Raborn said he thinks the project will get momentum once the splash-pad work begins.
“We’re hoping this kind of jump-starts it so the community sees we’re actually doing something. … We plan on having a sign, a thermometer to show what the build-out will be.
“Hopefully, the playground part will be shortly behind [the splash pad],” Raborn said.
The Ottenheimer Brothers Foundation committed to giving $50,000, Crafton Tull donated $1,000, and the Lion’s Club donated $10,000 to the project.
Raborn said a $15,000 grant was just received from the Clark Family Foundation through the Arkansas Community Foundation.
Roberts said Kimberly-Clark is trying to do something “in house” to raise $50,000. In addition, a Red Basket crowd-funding campaign raised $3,323.
Roberts and Raborn said naming rights, which require a $200,000 tax-deductible donation, are being sought for the project.
Raborn also said a donor board will be erected on the site to list those who contributed to the project.
“It’s all a matter of time,” he said. “I’ve been here a while, and I know it’s just tough, even for some of these bigger companies.”
Maumelle’s Planning Committee for Play and Splash formed after City Councilman Rick Anderson saw a Facebook post about an all-inclusive playground in Bryant and suggested that Maumelle build one. City councilwoman Terry Williams got involved, too. Anderson is no longer on the City Council, but he is on the committee.
Roberts, who is also an adviser on the committee, has an 18-year-old daughter, Alex, who has cerebral palsy. He said he would love to see a playground that children of all abilities could enjoy. He said the playground would have a rubber surface and “state-of-the-art equipment and play structures” that can be shared by children of all abilities.
Because they will be next door to Lake Valencia, he designed the playground and splash pad with an “Arkansas fishing-hole-type theme.” The splash pad has vertical spray pieces designed like cattails.
Roberts said the Play and Splash is needed and will be an attractive addition to Maumelle.
“Our committee knew the funding would be slow, so this plan to do the splash pad first has not deterred us from the goal of creating an inclusive destination for families in central Arkansas,” he said.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.