Members of the Houston City Council authorized a splash pad Monday for Westside Park south of the municipal swimming pool.
Kayla Sloan, parks and recreation director, said the 20×30 area will be located in a portion of what is now a sand volleyball court next to the pool. It will operate on a five-minute timer and be free for public use. The parks board narrowed the field from three designs and settled on one with a fire department theme.
Sloan said the splash pad will accommodate 20-30 children at a time and feature fresh water in several features. An old city fire truck will be nearby for kids to play on. Sloan said she hopes to eventually include a water spraying feature with the truck.
The cost for the structure is $26,801. The council included $30,000 in the 2019 pool budget. The cost might also be offset by a portion of in-house labor.
Proceeds from the sale of city-owned Forbes property at Hawthorn and King streets were earmarked for the work. A real estate closing has not yet occurred, the council heard Monday night. Further discussion was expected in a closed session of the council.
Sloan said that if all goes as planned, the splash pad should be ready by Memorial Day. A similar one has been in operation for about a year at Salem.
The nearby kiddie swimming pool, which did not open last year due to leakage, will not be used again in 2019, Sloan said.