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09/24/2019 03:48 PMThough summer might be winding down, some Guilford residents are already looking forward to a splashy new way to beat the heat.
At its Sept. 16 meeting, the Board of Selectmen approved contracting a design for a splash pad to be installed at Jacobs Beach, potentially setting the stage for Guilford to join many other nearby towns in offering the unique water-spewing hangout for local residents.
Splash pads are flat, usually concrete structures on which fountains, nozzles, and various other types of spraying water provide a way for kids to cool off and get wet without actually dipping into a pool or going to the beach. Historically found in water parks, they have become increasingly popular in town parks or other recreation areas.
The impetus for the new activity actually came from residents, specifically Mandie Sorrentino, who first approached the Parks & Recreation Commission about the splash pad about a year ago.
“Summer is hard when you have small kids,” said Sorrentino, who is a mother of two. “Taking them to the beach is not really an easy task. And so we were actually frequenting splash pads in nearby towns.”
Sorrentino said she reached out on Facebook to other local parents about getting a splash pad installed in Guilford and received “immediate interest.” That resulted in a group being formed, and together they pitched the idea of the activity to the Parks & Recreation Commission last summer.
Sorrentino said the commission was very receptive to the idea and she worked with the commission to solicit proposals and select a company to put together a design. The commission approved a $21,000 contract for Schmidt Design Group on Sept. 9 of this year; that contract was subsequently approved by the Board of Selectmen.
Though the commission is fronting the funds for the initial design, Parks & Recreation Director Rick Maynard said the plan is for the project to eventually be paid for in full through the fundraising efforts of Sorrentino and the other splash pad campaigners.
“In the course of the last year, we have met with a number of different experts in this area,” said Sorrentino, “meeting at the beach, talking about the idea, [and] walking through our vision, which is a really natural-looking splash pad which would fit into the aesthetic of the area.”
Sorrentino said several other parks were considered for the splash pad, including Bittner Park and Chittenden Park, before Jacobs Beach was chosen.
Maynard described several advantages to having Jacobs Beach host the splash pad, including access to public water, having park staff already in place, and convenience for usage by summer camp programs.
Maynard described two different styles of splash pads: ones that fully recycle all the water they used, and ones that simply let their water run off. Guilford’s version will not be fully recycling, as that style requires a certified pool operator and constant maintenance, but the vision is to have a design that is still very eco-friendly and finds a use for water that it uses.
“[Schmidt Design] has really interesting, unique [features]. I feel like they’re kind of cutting edge ideas” regarding recycling the water, Sorrentino said. “Because obviously we’re a very conscientious community, we don’t want to be wasteful, and we want to make sure we want to be smart with the way we’re handling the water.”
One design that is being considered is to have to water filter to a rain garden, which Sorrentino said would keep the natural feel and flow of Jacobs Beach while remaining enviro-conscious.
Maynard said another way to keep water waste down is to have the splash pad operate on a push-button system, so water only flows for a minute or so at a time.
There is no final cost or timeline for the project yet, and many other details are still up in the air as the contractor starts working on a design. Still, Sorrentino said she is already extremely excited about the prospect of Guilford having its own version of the ubiquitous summertime play area.
“While our shoreline is beautiful and we have fantastic beaches—and Guilford in particular has done a phenomenal job down at Jacobs—as a parent with young children, open water makes me really nervous,” she said.
“There is an underserved population of...families with small children, and families with special needs that don’t really get to enjoy the shoreline or water play in the summer. Splash pads are really up-and-coming.”
Sorrentino said she and the other members of the group would be launching their fundraising campaign in the coming weeks, including a “buy-a-brick” option, where donors would have a name or message carved into the structure.
For more information on the splash pad proposal, email thesplashpadguilford@gmail.com.