67° and Partly Cloudy
Image
^^^^^^^WATCH
The old Harrisburg Elementary School property, once left for dead, sure does look a lot different than it did 20, 25 years ago.
That transformation has continued this summer, as the Harrisburg Splash Pad opened to the neighborhood and the larger community. The splash pad sits near the new pavilion/restroom facility, completed several years ago, which sits beside the community garden, completed several years prior to that. Also on the up-and-up is what's left of the inside of the old school, which includes a large meeting room and industrial kitchen. There's also new playground equipment on the other side of the parking lot.
The splash pad, like the pavilion and playground, was funded with SPLOST money. The Harrisburg Splash Pad project is not part of the much-larger $3.5 million budget for a new waterpark at Walter B. Williams Jr. Park. County leaders are calling it an "Aquatics Center." The idea, according to County Manager Carlos Tobar, is to provide recreation during the warm-weather months and not lose money at the same time. This is why the county commission is moving forward with plans to build an "Aquatics Center," which ultimately will be similar to the water park in nearby Dublin.
“In our field trips to other facilities and our research, we found that (basic swimming pools) aren’t really popular with the public anymore,” said Tobar earlier this year, adding that the water park in Dublin actually operated at a $10,000 profit during its first year of operation. “(Basic swimming pools) don’t make money.”
The Chamber of Commerce busted out the big scissors for a ceremony at the Collins P. Lee Center in Harrisburg.
The ultimate plan is for the Aquatics Center to feature a swimming pool that doubles as a landing area for two large water slides, as well as a “lazy river.” Phase 1 calls for a buck two smaller slides, a “bucket drop,” as well as an adjoining splash pad with more traditional splash pad features. Phase 2, meanwhile, would include a “lazy river,” two large slides with adjoining swimming pool, as well as larger restroom/changing facilities, which is required by law.
County commissioners originally hoped to open Phase 1 in 2022 and Phase 2 in 2025 0r 2026, but that timeline has been sped up. The hope, at least, is to have the entire project completed at some point next year.
