Breaking Ground: Vastwood Park’s Splash Pad Project Underway
By Jennifer Wimmer
During the week following Christmas 2024, Hancock native, Gary Nugent, and his crew at GN Excavating & Trucking, were breaking ground at Vastwood Park for the new Splash Pad to be constructed. The date for completion of construction has not yet been announced.
Judge-Executive Johnny “Chic” Roberts explained, “We don’t have a completion date because the weather would change that date. With the timeframe, we’ll just kind of take that as it comes and keep moving forward to finish that. We’re excited about that project, and what it means for Vastwood and our community.”
As reported in previous articles in The Clarion, $200K was secured in 2022 from the Land & Water Conservation Fund grant for the construction of the Splash Pad, through the partnership with Hancock County and GRADD. Domtar Paper Mill, in Hawesville, donated $25K toward the project. In addition, Southwire, in Hawesville, has agreed to donate $50K to the project, and Commonwealth Rolled Products, in Lewisport, has agreed to donate $25K.
The design was mostly completed in April of 2024, and construction could not begin as potentially planned that spring or summer, for various reasons. The Splash Pad will be located between the parking lot in front of the beach house and the tennis courts, at Vastwood Park, and just south of Vastwood Lake. The small building with equipment room and new bathroom facilities will be located next to the Splash Pad, and a little closer to the tennis courts.
It will hold a maximum of approximately 2,700 gallons of water, which will be continuously recirculated from a holding tank. City water will be used, and then re-treated before it recirculates to be utilized again.
This project is made possible with a combination of county funds, along with the aforementioned grant funding and private donations from some of the county’s largest companies. The aim is for there to be no unnecessary waste, regarding the water. It does cost a little more, up front, for a recirculation system but that extra is recouped later.
Hancock County is the only county GRADD serves that doesn’t have a Splash Pad yet, and the youth and families in the area will be very happy to see it completed, and will really enjoy this new addition to the park for many years to come.
As reported in The Clarion, the Hancock County Fiscal Court has a Land & Water Conservation Fund grant request in for an inclusive, multi-sensory playground at Vastwood Park. Roberts said they should be hearing back about that funding in the next month or two. The main, large playground was updated in 2022, and a new playground was also installed between the little league and t-ball fields in 2023. Grant funding has also been applied for to install more benches along the new hiking trails, more picnic tables, metal bench swings, and a replacement of the fitness stations.
