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At their Tuesday work session, the City Council discussed the proposed water park that could be developed on West Second Street. The council heard from Grant Creager, an architect who had volunteered to conceptualize what the park might look like. Creager said, “The west side of town doesn’t have a park, it needs a park.” He stated that zero-entry splash pools have seen heavy usage in communities like Kearney, Columbus, and Hastings. While not a swimming pool, the “splash pads” would provide North Platte children a means to cool off in the summer months. The proposed park would cover ten acres, providing ample room for a shelter and bathroom facilities, Creager said. “Yeah, but it’s still half way to Hershey,” said Larry Campbell, Fourth Ward. Jim Parish of the Second Ward suggested that the spray park could be put in at Cody Park. City Administrator Jim Hawks noted that it made some financial sense to do so. Judy Pederson, Second Ward, said that kids on the west side of town would not ride their bikes over to Cody Park to play in the splash pool. “So those north side kids can ride their bikes over to the west side of town?” Larry Lee Britton, Fourth Ward, asked. Dan McGuire of the Third Ward noted that even if the construction of the park did not cost the city a dime, the park would need to be maintained and that expense would fall to the city. He said it didn’t seem like a good idea to add expenses at a time when money was so tight. Pederson said that actual construction could be years out and that right now the project was not costing the city anything. Council President Don Kurre asked what the city was paying to maintain the property now. Hawks responded that no maintenance is done on the land, and that the ten acres a hayed for free each year. Hawks gave the council his monthly report after the pool discussion ended. He said that the state had received the city’s budget by the Sept. 20 deadline. He also reported that the various construction projects around town are moving along as planned. The construction of the project on Buffalo Bill is right where it should be, according to the contractor in charge of the project. Hawks said Walgreen’s goal is to be open in time to participate in the Christmas season and he believed they could, based on the progress they had made. The Wilkinson project in the Shopko parking lot is progressing as planned, and all the spaces had been rented. Godfather’s Pizza will call one of the spaces home. Hawks reported that the Loves Truck stop continued to move forward, along with the road project on south Highway 83. Hawks did note that the contractor on the 83 project worried that they were a few weeks behind schedule, but that good progress had been made in the last few days.
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