The Parks and Recreation board members met on Thursday, July 7th, to discuss specifics around the color scheme for the new renovations that are scheduled for development at Jubilee Park. Although they were down a member and the meeting itself was somewhat informal, important decisions were still discussed and made.
Those present included board chair leader John Miles, city council member Tina Casey Jones, public works director Alex Ponder, and city recorder Rebecca Patton. Given the hoops that the board has needed to jump through since 2008 when the idea was initially drafted, members were in high spirits about the task at hand- selecting a new color palette for the coming splash pad and new playground equipment.
After some mild technical difficulties, John Miles got his laptop running and presented the rest of the board with a plethora of color options in variations such as primary colors, earth tones, and pastels. It was quickly determined that since the new playground equipment is set to be painted in vivid primary colors, a selection of tones in “different but complementary colors” would work best for the nearby splash pad. With that in mind, the pastel palette was selected, and all that was left was figuring out the specific colors of the attached spray fixtures.
The spray fixtures include a multitude of adorable creatures and concepts, meaning that the splash pad will have many eye-catching designs for the community to enjoy. A frog-shaped-slide, aptly named “Slide the Frog” on the designer’s website, was heatedly discussed when board members decided that it’s original earth-tone color scheme was not going to work.
This only served to reinforce the decision to use pastel colors, and more fitting colors for the frog were quickly decided upon. A smaller frog, called “Frog Jr,” is also set to be a part of the design, although unlike its larger counterpart, Frog Jr may have get to have spots unless that feature costs extra. Along with the frogs, the design includes some multicolored fish with a lighthouse, a sea sprite, a butterfly named Iris, and a snail named Scooter. There will also be a multitude of brightly colored flower fixtures with names like “Dancing Daisy” and “Tiny Tulip.”
Seating for the splash pad was also discussed, though nothing was firmly decided upon, as the initial seating plans didn’t take into account the fact that the splash pad area will be divided into two sections- an area for older children and an area for babies and toddlers. As a result of this, the seating that will presumably be used for parents of the younger children is sparse at best. This is undoubtedly something that can and will be remedied in future design plans.
As Tina Casey Jones pointed out over the course of the meeting, though these seem like small decisions compared to the overall picture, this project has been “a long time coming,” and board members were understandably excited about being able to enjoy something as simple as selecting a color palette when there have been so many larger things at play. After the previous company that had been selected for the splash pad fixtures raised their prices, the second selection, a company called Raindrop, seems like it’s really going to come through for Jubilee Park.
Around this time next year, local children and their families may finally have somewhere safe to gather and stay cool, something that the Illinois Valley has desperately needed for a while since the closing of our local swimming pool. With the board’s help, the new features are going to be as eye-catching as they are useful.