T-R PHOTO BY SUSANNA MEYER — From left to right, Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee members Wynne Brothers, Jeffrey Sogge, Parks And Recreation Director Geoff Hubbard, and Committee members Andrew Pool and Laurel Degelau. Hubbard discussed possible projects for the next two years, pending the budget’s approval by the city council.

The Marshalltown Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee discussed some possible upcoming projects including a new splash park and improvements at Riverview Park during a regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday.

The city council is still in the process of approving budgets, so none of the projects are set in stone. Parks and Recreation Director Geoff Hubbard, however, wanted to show the committee members what the project load and budget breakdown could look like over the next two years.

In total, there are 11 potential projects, which would need a budget of around $7 million. Two million would go directly to improving Riverview Park — specifically, expanding the lagoon to a point where it could hold up to eight acres of water to counteract potential flooding.

“The lagoon will probably hold water all the time, but there will be some additional overflow detention areas that would hold water in the event that we have that larger rain event,” Hubbard said.

Renovations to the campground and the addition of a fountain to the lagoon were also noted as possible improvements.

“We might put a fountain in there, which would help with some aeration and keeping it from looking like it has in the past,” Hubbard said.

The next big project discussed was a splash pad to be placed near the Marshalltown Family Aquatic Center, which would require about $500,000 in funding and be budgeted for 2023.

“My hope is that we can tie all the piping into the aquatic center, so we can use that for all the filtration and everything else,” Hubbard said.

Committee member Jeffrey Sogge said having access to clean water for the splash pad was the most expensive part of the whole project. Partnering with the aquatic center could help cut down on those costs.

Hubbard said because they would be re-circulating the water, the state sees the splash pad as a pool — not just a playground — and they would require similar water monitoring systems to be in place. To comply with that requirement, the water would have to be tested every four hours, but whether or not that testing would have to be done manually is still undetermined at this time.

Hubbard said he’s excited to make some much needed improvements to Riverview as it’s one of the oldest parks in Marshalltown, and he can’t wait to see how the splash pad turns out.

“I’m also excited about the splash pad, just because I think there are a lot of towns that are getting them. It’s one of those places that people can go to, and there will be no cost to it. So, it’s kind of one of those free places for kids to cool off in the summertime when it’s hot out,” he said.

In addition to the Riverview Park and splash pad projects, improvements to Elks Park, Peterson Park and Kiwanis Park as well as various trail improvements are on the table in the next two years.

——

Contact Susanna Meyer at 641-753-6611

or smeyer@timesrepublican.com.