WEST CHESTER TWP., Ohio — A long-awaited splash pad installation at Beckett Park should be completed late this month or early next month.
But it won’t open until spring, weather permitting.
West Chester Twp. trustees had planned for the $1.6 million project to open in spring 2024. However, issues with permitting and unanticipated site problems delayed work.
Township spokeswoman Barb Wilson said a May ribbon cutting will be scheduled once construction is finished and the water features are tested.
“It’s been delay after delay after delay,” said Trustee Mark Welch. “We’ve got our fingers crossed that this will occur this spring. I’m hoping we can open on Memorial Day this year.”
The splash park is being constructed on the west side of the 150-acre Beckett Road park, near picnic shelters. It is on the site of a small pool/pond the township had once hoped could be used as an ice skating rink, but weather and leaks made it impractical.
The park has a log cabin, a boundless playground, natural and paved trails, restrooms, a baseball complex, a Muhlhauser barn and a splash pad.
“It is very well designed, (with) water features for kids to get involved with,’’ Welch said. “It will be fun when it’s done. It’s disappointing it’s a year late in opening.”
The design includes a tube and other slides, climbing, a tunnel, spray arches, a frog, a bridge, a fountain, and shade structures.
“We’re hopeful it will be done by this month. It’s been pushed back many times,’’ said Trustee Lee Wong. “It’s dragging on for too long.”
It’s not the only Butler County splash pad that is open late. A similar project by Landscape Structures Inc., with its water feature division, Aquatix - the same company doing West Chester Twp.’s splash pad – was also supposed to open last year.
Mandi Brock, Fairfield’s parks and recreation director, said construction on the splash pad was completed last December, shortly after a newly built playground adjacent to it opened.
That project also faced permitting delays. Brock said an opening date will be set once the final testing of pipes and features is completed.
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