Photo: The Norview Splash Pad in Norfolk, VA (courtesy city of Norfolk)
Jackson County Parks Director Jeff Hovarter announced several projects planned during the fall and winter, including the construction of a splash pad as part of Phase 2 of the Cascades Renovation Project.
The goal of this next phase is to provide families and children an interactive experience with a new aquatics facility. According to Hovarter, this will be a swimming pool with spray cannons and other features that move water, but with no basin for safety reasons.
The aquatics facility will allow The Cascades to expand hours and operate from 11am to 11pm during the summer season.
The project will involve permanently closing the south parking lot and the south entrance of the Cascades along Brown Street. Plans are to improve and maintain one main entrance at the north side where the museum is located, adjacent to the large main parking lot, near the sledding hill.
“We are in design now and we hope to let bids in late September and have a contractor by mid-October” said Hovarter. “We’re hoping by mid-June (2017) at the latest we will be up and operating”. Over the winter, foundations will be laid, a well and pump house will be constructed and piping, electrical and other underground work will take place. In the spring, the pad will be poured, pumps will be hooked up, features and a perimeter fence will be installed.
Also this fall, Hovarter said there are “two exciting projects” involving the expansion of the county’s trail system. “We will begin construction in October on the half mile connection from the Cascades by the Manor House” said Hovarter. This will then connect to the Martin Luther King Equality Trail (formerly Inter-City Trail) and the Falling Waters Trail.
As for the other project, Hovarter said the county is in a feasibility study with MDOT, the city of Jackson and Blackman Township to figure out what is the best method to get the city trail at North Street to continue north and under I-94 through Blackman Township. This would eventually connect with a regional trail system that is beginning construction next year called the Lakelands Trail.
The Lakelands Trail connects to a trail system that runs all the way to Port Huron. Within the next five years, the parks director predicts the Falling Waters Trail will extend to Marshall from Concord and connect to the Kal-Haven Trail. Once complete, a trail system will be in place from Lake Michigan to Lake Huron and travel through Jackson.
Appearing on The Bart Hawley Show, Hovarter also discussed the county’s proposal to operate the Boy Scout camp, Camp Teetonkah on Big Wolf Lake. Camp Teetonkah is one of five Michigan Boy Scout camps to be shut down at the end of the year. Jackson County was invited to submit a proposal to take over the facility. The complete interview can be seen here.
Dove Park Splashpad in Grapevine, TX (photo courtesy GrapevineTxOnline)