The Waterloo Park Board held a special meeting May 24 to OK plans for the layout of the splash pad it plans to build at William Zimmer Memorial Park. 

This marked the first time any plans have been publicly available for the anticipated amenity off Rogers Street.

The plans show the splash pad will be around 70 feet by 100 feet in size. 

The board is still finalizing details for the splash pad’s water features, but it knows they will have an agriculture theme. 

The plan is for the centerpiece to look like a barn with two slides, an inside sprayer and an outdoor sprayer in the shape of a weather vane that kids can aim. 

Other features may be in the shape of cornstalks or animals like a bull, park board president Kevin Hahn said. 

The board is working with Rain Drop Products, a company that specializes in equipment like this, to develop the splash pad’s features. 

There will also be around 44 parking spots, a building with restrooms and showers and a seating area as part of the facility. 

“We’re planning on having a shaded area where people can sit and watch their kids play,” Hahn said, noting there may be tables and chairs available. “There will be a little bit of a pavilion area, but not quite a big one.” 

The park district received a $400,000 Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources last January that will pay for much of the pad.

Hahn said that funding must be spent or allocated by next June, so construction will begin relatively soon.  

“We’re going to try to get started on it this year to get things rolling, at least on the parking lot and building and stuff,” he said. 

Hahn invited Waterloo residents to attend the park board’s regular meeting at 7 p.m. June 9 on the second floor of Waterloo City Hall to provide any feedback on the splash pad plans to date.