Splash Pad May 19th, 2022

As if the last day of school on Thursday, May 19, wasn’t enough for children to look forward to, the City of Waycross has added something else to celebrate. The splash pad in Pernell Roberts Park will hold a formal grand opening from 4 to 7 p.m. to recognize the donors who made the recreational area possible. In addition to the facility’s water feature being turned on for the summer, the day will include hot dogs, chips and bottled water as long as they last. “This will be a little something extra to celebrate the last day of school for the kids,” Trey Gavin, the city’s consulting engineer who oversaw the project’s construction, told the City Commission earlier this week at its planning and information session. Enviva is the pad’s Platinum Sponsor with a $15,000 donation toward the $150,000 project. The the local wood fuel pellet producer has naming rights to the facility. Other key donors were Ameris Bank, ESG Operations Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and Walmart. Friends of the park are Donell George and Mesiah Porter Jr. The city offered a glimpse of the pad in October shortly after it was deemed operational. That debut showcased the facility with a community cookout and about 20 minutes of time for youngsters to experience the handful of water features. The splash pad was the brainchild of former City Commissioner John Threat. In addition to the private donations, it was funded from the recreational budgets of Threat, Commissioner Henry Strickland and former Commissioner Marian Solimon-Gaines, in whose District (3), the park is located. Pernell Roberts Park was chosen as the site because of its proximity to downtown. In addition to providing another recreational opportunity to the area, it’s hoped the location will create traffic for downtown businessess. The pad complex is approximately 1,500 square feet, and has been constructed to facilitate future expansion.