Gilberts splash pad is nice but needs benches and shade, residents say

A new splash pad recently opened in Gilberts, and residents, while praising the addition, say better amenities such as benches and a shady area for parents are needed.

Village officials, however, say it's all a matter of money and pointed out residents turned down a tax increase via a referendum question in 2012 that would have funded several park projects and additional programming.

Several moms brought their own folding chairs Thursday afternoon while watching their children play in the splash pad at Town Center Park off Tyrrell Road and Columbia Lane. Benches and some shade are needed, residents Maribel Grossmann and Erica O'Donnell said.

Grossmann said she voted "no" three years ago because taxes already are high in Gilberts. "They should find the money somehow," she said.

"We just learned (to make do)," O'Donnell said. "My husband was like, 'Why don't you just bring your own chair?'"

Still, the splash pad that opened Memorial Day weekend is a great feature next to a playground that opened last fall, they said. "We love it," Grossmann said. "It's wonderful," O'Donnell said.

The splash pad cost about $185,000 out of a total $850,000 or so for the project to build out the park using impact fees, primarily from the builder of nearby Gilberts Town Center, Village President Rick Zirk said.

"We don't have enough money to finish the park with the vision that was put together (initially)," he said. "We did what we could afford to do."

The project included a new softball/baseball field, an expanded parking lot, bathroom facilities, and drainage and grading improvements to the soccer/football field and soccer fields for little kids, Zirk said. The original plan included a second baseball field, bleachers and nicer dugout facilities, he said.

The village hopes to be awarded Kane County Riverboat grant funds that could be used to build a gazebo or pavilion by the splash pad, Trustee Guy Zambetti said. "We're doing it in phases," he said. "We're doing the most we can for the money we have to work with."

Meanwhile, the village board Tuesday agreed that inexpensive benches costing $250 or so would be a good idea, although no formal vote was cast, he said.

Resident Lillian Prince, who attended Tuesday's board meeting, said the village should have had the forethought to add amenities to the splash pad. It's not easy for parents to lug around chairs and blankets while taking care of little ones, she said.

She also took issue with Zambetti, who she said "publicly shamed" her idea of adding picnic benches, shade trees and garbage bins on his private Facebook page. Zambetti didn't name Prince in his post about how some residents complain no matter how good they seemingly have it.

Zambetti, a longtime proponent of the splash pad, said he was "just venting."

"I'm pretty blunt, and it may be inappropriate," he said.

Planting shade trees is not a good idea because leaves could clog the drains, officials said.