State grants waiver for Daley Park splash pad; city estimates roughly $300,000 capital savings

Joshua (recreation staff) told the commission that the city requested and expects to receive a state waiver that removes a bathroom-fixture requirement tied to the size of a splash pad at Daley Park.

“Initial cost estimates, if we were had to do that, could double the cost of the project,” Joshua said. He said he sent the waiver request to state officials and that the state told staff they will sign and send the paperwork, which would avoid adding fixtures and the related capital and ongoing operating costs.

Joshua said the city is working with Snyder and Associates on preliminary plans and with a splash-bed vendor to get updated cost estimates and bid specifications. “So hopefully in the next few weeks, we'll have some things tightened up, and we'll be able to take those ... bid specs to council so we can get this project rolling,” he said.

Keith (staff member) added that the waiver “could potentially save us about 300,000, on this project, and and and that could be 300,000 that we could use on a on a different project, you know, potentially.”

Staff said they have not yet received the signed paperwork but that they have an email commitment from the state and will move forward on finalizing plans and procurement documents. No formal vote or contract award occurred at the meeting; staff framed the discussion as a progress update and an expectation that council will receive procurement documents once plans are complete.