Lake Barrington splash park proposed

Lake Barrington trustees on June 8 will consider a proposal by the Lake Barrington Countryside Park District for a splash park on the grounds of village hall.

The splash park will be approximately 40 feet by 36 feet and activated by users with the press of a button, Village Administrator Christopher Martin said.

The site, which lies just south of the park district’s existing playground at 23860 Old Barrington Road, will include a 12-foot by 18-foot structure containing both a pump house for the splash park and a unisex bathroom to replace the portable toilet there today.

“We have been planning this a couple of years,” park district board President Michael Graft said. “In the past few years, these spray parks have become very popular among municipalities and park districts throughout the country.”

The splash parks are especially useful in areas like Lake Barrington where the space, expense or maintenance of a full swimming pool would be prohibitive, Graft said. But splash parks can provide a fun community gathering space all on their own, he added.

Once approval is given, the $200,000 splash park will take about eight weeks to build and should be open to residents during the latter part of this summer, Graft said.

In future years, the park is planned to operate from about Memorial Day to Halloween.

The grounds of village hall are the only place the park district has developed any active recreation space. In addition to the playground, there is a baseball field and tennis courts.

The park district has been saving for the park for some time, but is also considering the possibility of getting financial help from others.

The village holds developer impact fees earmarked for recreation, some of which may be eligible for use on the project. The playground and tennis courts were funded by a 50/50 split between the park district and developer impact fees held by the village.

Graft also plans to talk to the Lake County Forest Preserve District about it chipping in for the new toilet facilities. An upgrade from the current portable facility is something hikers on the forest preserve’s nearby trail system have been requesting for some time, Graft said.

The park district first presented the concept to the village board last August. The idea was then referred to the village plan commission for further review of technical details.

The plan commission unanimously recommended approval in late April, contingent on a successful engineering and permit review.