It may be nearing the end of summer, butEastpointe residents now have a way to cool off and have a little fun with the opening of the new Kennedy Park Splash Pad.
The outdoor splash pad comes more than a decade after the Kennedy Pool was removed in 2012 because of significant maintenance and repair costs the city could not afford during a budget crisis, said Ian Colin McCain, the city's economic development manager, in an email to the Free Press.
He said the pool, which was a fixture in the park and broader community for decades, was just northeast of the new splash pad site.
The splash pad represents a $2.5 million investment in the city, including a $1.5 million Community Center Grant from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity,
according to a city release.
It said the project also was supported by a $500,000 Land and Water Conservation Fund grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The Recreation Authority of Roseville and Eastpointe provided $300,000, with the remaining funds covered by the city of Eastpointe.
McCain said the splash pad will be open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. daily, weather permitting, and could stay open through mid-September. It is located in the northeast corner of John F. Kennedy Memorial Park, 24292 Schroeder Ave.
City officials and others celebrated the splash pad's grand opening Thursday, Aug. 27, where Facebook photos show attendees young and old getting doused by water from a bucket and enjoying the new aquatic amenity.
The city release said community feedback and project partnerships were at the core of the design and funding for the project. Stakeholders were invited to participate in online surveys, allowing citizens to pick their favorite water features and share thoughts on the overall design theme, it said.
The overwhelming survey favorite, it said, was the Michigan nature theme with a variety of native plant and animal life water features, including a caterpillar of circle tunnel sprayers, a big water bucket and slides.
There is seating in and around the splash pad, including picnic tables and pavilions, as well as restrooms and outdoor showers, according to the release.
In July, Eastpointe officials and others celebrated another significant development in the city, the groundbreaking for a new police station and 38th District Court building, a $22 million project that will replace an existing structure that opened more than six decades ago.
That project also has an additional $1.9 million for furniture and $1.2 million for required HVAC and soundproofing systems for a gun range to be built near the new building, making that total project just over $25 million, City Manager Ryan Madis said July 15. The new building will be on 9 Mile Road, east of Gratiot Avenue, adjacent to the existing structure.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Eastpointe gets a new splash pad a decade after pool yanked out
