Bethie’s Sprayground and Speedway Children’s Park dedicated Thursday.
Staying with the story
The Springfield News-Sun has written extensively about the sprayground project since it was first announced in 2012.
The $350,000 sprayground at Snyder Park was unveiled Thursday afternoon, adding another new feature to the city’s oldest park.
The sprayground will be open to the public each day from 8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. until about mid-September, but could stay open longer depending on the weather, said National Trail Parks and Recreation District Director Leann Castillo.
The area near the tennis courts will now be known as Speedway Children’s Park, while the water playground is named Bethie’s Sprayground, in honor of Bethie Hellmuth, who died in 2014. Both were dedicated at a ribbon-cutting event at Snyder Park.
The Children’s Park also includes the $300,000 Centennial Playground, which was built by the Springfield Rotary Club last summer.
Speedway donated about a quarter of the money for both of the projects, said local developer Pete Noonan, a member of the non-profit Friends of Snyder Park. The Hellmuth family also made a large donation to the project.
The sprayground project was discussed first four years ago and the organization began raising funds in 2012, said President Ann Collier, a descendant of the Snyder Family, who opened the park in 1897. The Friends of Snyder Park was formed in 2010 to preserve, promote and enhance the 122-acre park.
The project wouldn’t have been possible without the support of local foundations, corporations and individual donors, including one who lives in Italy, she said.
“The ties run deep with people who have grown up here and love it,” Collier said.
A sprayground is an area for water play with no standing water. The splash pads use ground nozzles controlled by motion sensors that spray water upward like fountains, allowing people to run and play in the water. With no standing water, little risk of drowning exists, eliminating the need for lifeguards. It will be the city’s property and will be maintained by the NTPRD.
Speedway is proud to have its corporate headquarters in Clark County, said President Tony Kenney, and feels a responsibility to give back to the community.
“It’s very important to do the right things to help those communities,” Kenney said.
In the last three years, several changes have been made to Snyder Park, including closing the former golf course. The area now houses a new playground, sprayground, dog park and the planned gardens project. The city also constructed a new $1.3 million bridge on Snyder Street, serving as the new entrance to the park.
Most of the projects have been funded largely through donations, said City Commissioner Kevin O’Neill. The park has been reinvigorated through the recent changes, he said.
“The shelter houses are booked solid,” O’Neill said. “People are using the playground equipment. They’re using the park, and they use it in good times and bad times, and that’s why it’s so important that we’ve all done what we have done.”
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