Island Park spray park now open

Lots of children, adults and even the mayor sprayed their support Tuesday for the opening of the city’s spray park at Island Park, 331 N. Main St.

Alice Roberson, 5, was selected randomly from a city day care program to push the water activation button and begin the fun.

Mayor Jim Holton said the park had been in the works for a long time, crediting fellow City Commissioner Jon Joslin for ensuring the project’s creation.

“He was just relentless with that,” Holton said.

The spray park will be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The park’s 2009 season will end Oct. 4, weather permitting,

Chris Bundy, director of Mount Pleasant Parks and Recreation, said the park will be open later in the season this year so residents can enjoy it longer.

Nate Jonaitis, a bartender at The Bird Bar and Grill, 223 S. Main St., brought his 7-year-old stepson, Sam, to enjoy the fun.

“He was excited,” Jonaitis said.

Nicole Packer, a Shepherd resident, said the park was a pleasant surprise.

“I was actually meeting a friend and happened to stumble on it,” she said.

Packer’s three children enjoyed playing in the park and Packer said she would return.

“We’re always here,” she said. “Next time we’ll bring bathing suits.”

The park was designed by Miracle Recreation of Michigan, an Owosso-based company that provides engineering and building of outdoor recreational structures. The “dancing water” area and permanent canopy for shade and weather protection are the first to be installed in the state of Michigan, Bundy said.

The park has three separate areas, or “splash pads,” for toddlers, younger kids and older kids, he said.

Interactive elements in the park include spray hoses, water cannons, flowers that spray water, different water sprays on a timer and “mushroom” water fountains. There are 12 water features, two activation buttons and 100 water-activated sprayers and nozzles inside of the 2,095 square foot park.

The water will cycle for approximately four to five minutes after an activation button is pushed.

The city is running the water park through a computer system to prevent water waste, Bundy said. Once a water activation button is pushed, the computer will generate the water and will only allow it to flow during open park hours.

The City Commission approved the building of a water spray park May 26 and decided to place it in Island Park. The idea for a spray park came up a year-and-a-half to two years ago, Bundy said, and the city took action to build the park last December. The city budgeted $200,000 for the park and the project cost $199,000.