This exciting project was a partnership between committed local volunteers, the City of Denton, and the Parks Foundation. Welcome to the Denton Community Splashpark fan page! This idea grew out of a couple of frustrated moms and too many hot and bored children in the summer of 2013. There was nothing NEW to do -- the parks were too hot, the pools cost too much money, and it wasn't really appropria
te to let the kids be too loud at the library. Other communities -- Grapevine, Frisco, Dallas, Fort Worth -- all have splash parks. A splashpark is an area of water play that has no standing water, and can be a simple pop-jet fountain or a more complex playground structure with hoses, sprinklers, dump buckets, rainbows, and water cannons. Benefits of a splashpark:
10x cheaper to operate than a swimming pool, because there is no need to hire lifeguards or other staff. Open longer during the day (our municipal pools are open from 12:00 - 6:00 -- the hottest part of the day! Wouldn't it be nice to play outside when the morning and evening temps are cooler?)
Open longer during the year (our municipal pools are open Memorial Day - Labor Day, but Texas is hot from April - October! Wouldn't it be great if our toddlers and homeschooled kids had a place to cool off when school is still in session?)
Open to people of every economic level and regardless of physical abilities
Easier to keep track of the kids if they have different swimming strengths (because there's no swimming! Everyone can enjoy it equally and there's no chasing the little ones away from the deep end!)
FREE!! Even our municipal pools, as wonderful as they are, cost money. A child's admission to the civic center pool is $2.25. For one day. Summer is long, many families are large, and not everyone can afford to sustain that all summer long. A free splashpark means ANYONE can use it. More info:
Our splashpark will cost upwards of $300,000 to build. Because of community input, it will likely be included in the November 2014 bond package, which will allocate up to $200,000 for the construction of this splashpark. We have raised $10,000 in less than a year -- but we still have a ways to go if we're going to do this right. That's why we're counting on YOU to make this happen! Though we do not have a definite location for the splashpark, the most likely possibilities are either Fred Moore Park or Mack Park. Both parks are central, on a DCTA bus line, and are located in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods -- the very population that we hope will use the splashpark. Because the splashpark will be located in a public park (and not a shopping center or gated community), it will be available for ALL people to use. We have broad support from city council, the Parks Foundation, the Parks Department, countless local businesses, and hundreds (maybe thousands?) of citizens. Because of this support, we have raised over $10,000 in less than one year, simply through fundraising events, online donations, and even children donating their allowance money! We are partnered with the Denton Parks Foundation, a registered 501c3. This means that your donations are tax deductible! We are community-led and grassroots. Get involved by signing up for our newsletter, sponsoring/organizing/volunteering at an event, and donating to our cause!
