Emo eyeing water spray park

EMO—Since community revitalization is at the forefront of many recent initiatives, Emo council was in favour of looking further into a proposal for a water spray park there.
“When we were out west this summer, we took the kids to a water park that my friends recommended and it was really cool,” Emo resident Lincoln Dunn told council at its regular meeting Nov. 28.
“Things were shooting water and there were rings they could walk through,” he noted.
“And it’s all kid controlled—there are all these buttons that trigger the water to do its thing,” Dunn enthused. “The kids had a ball at it.”
It gave him the idea that it might be something Emo could have.
“So I just did some research to see what kind of costs were involved and the costs actually aren’t that prohibitive,” Dunn said, noting a comprehensive water spray park could be built for $150,000 or a basic one for $30,000.
A water spray park is a zero-depth children’s play area where water is sprayed from upright structures or ground sprays, then drained before it can accumulate.
“The Lions Park is really under utilized in terms of space-wise,” Dunn remarked. “There’s a lot of room down there.
“It’s obvious families are looking for somewhere to take their kids in the summer because the park was packed all summer long with the new play structure,” he added.
And since the water spray park doesn’t allow water to pool, Dunn said it’s a safe way for kids to play and cool down on those hot summer days.
“There isn’t an opportunity for children to drown,” he stressed. “The idea is all the water drains away and is re-circulated through the system, and it goes through a cleansing process.”
Dunn added parents should always watch their children but with no water accumulation, the area wouldn’t need to be staffed with lifeguards.
“And with triggering systems, it also means you’re not wasting water because if there is no one there using it, it isn’t running,” he remarked, adding the only costs involved after installation would be maintenance and the water.
“It really limits the liability, which is, of course, an issue for the township,” he indicated.
Dunn also revealed the potential economic benefits, as well.
“The nice thing about it is it looks like probably two-thirds of the cost is the labour to put it in,” he told council. “So there is potential for donation of labour and potential for getting local businesses involved.
“And the reality is even if you are spending only with local contractors, the money is staying local—it’s not like it’s going to a big corporation in California or something.”
“Waterplay,” a British Columbia-based company that specializes in water spray parks, has a website with valuable information about these kind of play areas.
They have installed more than 1,000 water spray parks across North America, and note it is fun and interactive for children of all ages.
“There’s one with five buckets in a row 10 feet up and the buckets fill with water,” Dunn said of one of the water-spraying structures.
“And when they get filled, the buckets dump, so the kids were just howling because they’re waiting and waiting and then the buckets dump all of a sudden.
“I’m sure kids up to 14 would even have fun with it,” he added.
Although just in the preliminary stage, Emo council agreed to pursue the idea through further research of feasibility and then strike a committee to begin fundraising.
“It’s the kind of project that would be ideal for funding for community-related projects,” Dunn concluded. “It kind of hits all the categories because it has potential economic benefits, benefits for families, and it revitalizes the park waterfront area.
“It’s a really cheap way to get an attraction to the town,” he stressed. “If we have something like this in place, people from both ends of the district will [use it].”
Also at the Nov. 28 meeting, Emo council:
•agreed to support the Township of Chapple in its efforts to urge the minister of agriculture and food to recognize the pursuit of an abattoir in Rainy River District to ensure compliance with regulations;
•authorized the annual donation of $250 to the Salvation Army; and
•approved support of the province’s Volunteer Service Awards hosted by the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration.
The inaugural meeting of the township’s new council for the 2006-2010 term took placeDec. 5.
(Fort Frances Times)