MORGANTOWN — City residents had a chance Wednesday evening to offer their thoughts in person on the planned new Krepps Pool Aquatic Play Structure.
BOPARC held an open house at the Wiles Hill Community Center to let folks view pictures of sample play area facilities, fill out a survey indicating their preferences and speak with BOPARC staff and student volunteers about the structure.
The open house complemented BOPARC’s effort to gain resident feedback via its online survey, which remains available through Friday at boparc.org, where there are links to information about the play area and the survey.
BOPARC Director Melissa Wiles explained that they decided to remove the existing 22-year-old play structure at the beginning of pool season because of its deteriorating condition. They put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new one and awarded the contract to Rain Drop Products, which makes structures for amusement parks and public pools.
Wiles said BOPARC was looking in the $60,000 to $80,000 range for the new structure and she estimates it will come in around $70,000.
The survey asks residents what kind of features they would like – such as slides, spouts and sprays, shade, inclusive features for people with disabilities, and interactive features. It seeks opinions on themes and color scheme preferences. The full survey has nine questions.
Wiles said about 80 people had filled out the online survey so far, and about 12 had come in person, with about 30 minutes left in the open house.
Ward and Janet Paine were among those who turned out Wednesday evening.
They live near Krepps and their kids visited the pool every day when they were younger, they said.
“The play structure has been falling apart for a long time,” Janet said, “but when it was taken away – there’s nothing for kids; there’s no trees, no shade.” There used to be umbrellas, trees, seats. “They’ve just slowly taken stuff away.”
What would they like to see? “I just want a slide,” Janet said, “because the kids love to slide. I think if you have just the water, it’s not enough.” Ward added that the kids would like the spray equipment too.
Students from WVU professor Steve Selin’s Outdoor Recreation Planning Class – under WVU’s Division of Forestry and Natural Resources’ Recreation, Parks and Tourism program – were also on hand. Selin said they’re assisting BOPARC with gathering the information and compiling the answers.
“It’s a great opportunity for our students to be involved in a real-life problem,” he said.
BOPARC said it expects to have a new structure in place for the beginning of the 2019 season. Money will come in part from a portion of capital funding left from the prior fiscal year, supplemented with money redirected from this year’s equipment/fleet replacement funds.
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