The Waterloo Park Board met recently for the penultimate meeting before its completion deadline for the long-awaited Waterloo Community Splash Pad.

With just over a month to go, the project seems to be in good shape.

Waterloo Park District Superintendent Don Prater reported on this strong progress at the meeting, noting construction had largely been completed at William Zimmer Memorial Park off Rogers Street save for some work on the parking lot and installation of features soon to be delivered.

These features – which include cornstalks, a tractor and a dewdrop as a temporary stand-in for the large barn feature – are set to be delivered this week, at which time Waterloo Park District staff will undergo training to operate and maintain the facility.

Waterloo Park Board President Gina Pfund spoke positively about the state of the project after the meeting.

“Things are looking very good,” Pfund said. “This week there’s gonna be a lot happening… The features are supposed to be arriving – the dewdrop and the corn stalks and the tractor are supposed to be arriving for installation – and then they’re gonna start with the training for the whole water system and filtration system with the park district workers.”

Pfund also said additional items for the splash pad such as plaques and rules signs are also expected to arrive in the weeks prior to the June 20 deadline.

“It’s now just the last-minute getting everything all ready, the last-minute touches,” Pfund said.

Additional necessities for the splash pad also include furniture being procured by Waterloo Citizens for a Pool.

It was announced at the meeting that WCP had officially placed an order for three tables and five benches, the organization having reached the halfway point in its ongoing plastic cap collection campaign for the recycled splash pad amenities.

WCP President Amy Grandcolas spoke about the current state of that campaign. Currently, WCP members plan to deliver the current supply of plastic to Green Tree Plastics in Evansville, Ind., at which point they’ll also be picking up the aforementioned furniture.

Grandcolas voiced her thanks to Quality Rental in Columbia for donating the rental fee of the enclosed U-Haul trailer which will be used for the trip.

Speaking on the campaign in general, Grandcolas noted how the rate of donations had steadily increased over the past few months, with the group hitting its initial goal of 2,600 pounds at the start of May.

WCP is continuing to collect plastic caps as it pursues the ultimate goal of 5,200 pounds, which will allow for the purchase of remaining furniture for the splash pad in advance of summer 2025.

“We now have about 25 garbage bags that are not even weighed in,” Grandcolas said. “We have so much coming in every week now, so the response and support is great. Now we’ve just got to get ourselves to a point that we can keep up with the cleaning and sorting. I think we’ll hit the full 5,200 pounds pretty quickly now that it’s coming in so fast.”

As Grandcolas noted, the campaign has received plenty of support from businesses like Quality Rental to organizations such as the William Zimmer Family Fund which pledged to pay for the furniture.

Grandcolas also mentioned how donations greatly sped up as schools such as Waterloo Junior High School, Gardner Elementary and Rogers Elementary got involved.

“It’s so motivating to see how much can be accomplished and how quickly something can be accomplished when you get large community-wide support like we have here the last few months,” Grandcolas said. “It’s very motivating and inspiring.”

Regarding the splash pad’s grand opening, a date still hasn’t been determined as remaining work and deliveries are organized, though Pfund emphasized that the project will definitely make the deadline in order to keep funds from the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development grant through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

“I’m really excited for it to open,” Pfund said. “I’m excited for the community, and especially it’ll be very exciting to see kiddos enjoying it, and the whole park board feels the same way.”

While the splash pad was a key topic of conversation for the board, discussion also covered other items such as the Konarcik Park disc golf course, improvements for which have been led by Waterloo Park Board Commissioner Mary Gardner.

As Gardner said after the meeting, a number of renovations are planned, with the first step being new hole signs and a hole-by-hole kiosk sign at the park, each funded by local businesses and individuals.

She announced at the meeting that all the required sponsorships have been acquired, and she hopes to finish the signs’ designs in early June with installation in early July.

“The Waterloo Park District would like to thank these businesses for supporting the disc golf course and thank the community for its continued support for all the parks in Waterloo,” Gardner said.

The board approved two new policies pertaining to records retention and video surveillance.

The board also briefly discussed two coming events which include the 2024 Pathfinder Open disc golf tournament on Saturday, June 29 – which was approved provided the group rent a pavilion and provide a certificate of insurance – and the 36th annual Gateway Classic boomerang tournament on Sunday, May 26 – a certificate of insurance for which has not been submitted.

Discussion also touched briefly on the butterfly garden at Lakeview Park, and Pfund voiced her appreciation for the park district employees who helped her get the site back in order recently.

“It’s looking good,” Pfund said. “We got it weeded, we got it mulched, we planted some more seed in there, the rain is coming… We’re hoping maybe in a year or so that we can expand it a little more, just taking our time with it.”

The board also held its election of officers at the start of the meeting, with Pfund remaining president and Waterloo Park Board Vice President Michael Nolte also keeping his position.

Looking back on her first year as board president, Pfund noted how busy the year has been, the great energy on the board and how beneficial the addition of Waterloo Park District Attorney Paul Schimpf has been.