MARYSVILLE — Kids in Marysville will get to enjoy a new water spray park this summer. The spray park will be installed in Comeford Park this spring and may open as soon as Memorial Day.
The Marysville City Council on Monday signed off on the purchase of the equipment, which includes such various items as water cannons and rotating sprinklers, in addition to the pumps and pipes that will be installed.
The final step will be to hire a contractor to install the equipment. The city will be soliciting bids soon, Parks and Recreation Director Jim Ballew said.
Ballew estimated that it would take 60 days to install the equipment, although bad weather could delay the opening past Memorial Day.
“I would be really happy if we can get the project open before school lets out,” Ballew said.
The spray park is also the first project undertaken with the support of the newly formed Marysville Community Parks Foundation.
The foundation, a nonprofit organization, will be holding a fundraising drive this spring.
The goal is to raise $325,000. While the city has committed $272,000 to the spray park and other renovations to Comeford Park, money raised through the foundation can offset some of that amount and free up funding for park projects elsewhere in the city, Ballew said.
Jennifer Ward, a local graphic designer who sits on the foundation board, said the fundraising offers sponsorship opportunities at a variety of levels.
One feature to be installed in Comeford Park will be a tile wall, where individuals and businesses who contribute $250 will have their names inscribed on bricks.
Other sponsorship levels the foundation will be seeking include $2,500 gifts to sponsor landscape features and two $10,000 gifts to sponsor the water cannons, Ward said.
Ward said the foundation will be getting word out through various channels in the coming months, including in parks, schools and at civic events like the Easter Egg Hunt and the Marysville Strawberry Festival.
“There’s just not enough tax revenue to do everything the community wants to do,” Ward said.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com.
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