Roselle’s Kemmerling Park to get splash pad, major upgrades
Think of a splash pad, and you might picture some spurts of water, a place for kiddos to cool off on an especially hot summer day.
Then there is what Roselle Park District leaders have in mind for Kemmerling Park and Pool.
“It’s going to look totally different in a year, which will be so nice for Roselle,” Park District Executive Director Lynn McAteer said.
As part of a voter-approved plan, the district is adding a splash pad near the pool. Renderings show a tropical scene that could cheer up someone in a February funk: water spraying out of a palm tree and an anchor, water slides and a tall dumping bucket.
“I’m fairly certain, based on its size, that there’s not going to be a splash pad in the area close to us that’s going to be quite as large,” McAteer said.
The district hopes to start its construction in August, which would allow for the opening of the new spray park around pool season in 2026.
The Kemmerling project budget — the park also is getting a face-lift — is roughly $5 million, deriving from a combination of referendum dollars, grants and the district fund balance. Voters in March 2024 approved a funding request to issue $7 million in bonds for upgrades throughout the district.
The Kemmerling Park and Pool site is 10 acres. Tennis courts will be resurfaced to accommodate pickleball. The district is installing new playground equipment, outdoor fitness equipment and family game areas. The district also will make infrastructure improvements to the pool itself.
“It's a lovely community pool, but it doesn't have a lot of the bells and whistles that some of the folks in the surrounding area have,” McAteer said.
Residents who are grandparents loved the idea of a splash pad because there isn’t a lot of standing water, and they can keep their eyes on their little ones as they run through it, McAteer said.
The park district also recently announced that it has been selected to receive a $600,000 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development, or OSLAD, grant from the state to put into Kemmerling.
The district is investing that state grant into the site to “make sure that the amenities are really, really nice,” said McAteer, adding that “although our residents are going to be thrilled, we're hoping that this maybe can become more of a little bit of a destination splash pad for some of our neighbors as well.”
“The Roselle Park District would like to thank Governor Pritzker and the IDNR for selecting the Kemmerling project for an OSLAD grant,” McAteer said in a news release. The “revitalization of this park will create a more inclusive and vibrant public space for social interactions, physical fitness, and relaxation.”
For instance, the playground will include a sensory wall depicting an underwater scene. Its rendering shows a colorful, tactile surface.
The project also will incorporate native plantings.
“It’s just going to be beautiful out there,” McAteer said.
Construction on the park portion is expected to begin in May.