Goal for new splash pad at Woodstock’s Emricson Park could get boost from grant

Woodstock wants to build a splash pad at Woodstock Water Works, located inside Emricson Park on the city’s West Side, but still needs to find ways to fund the project.

Woodstock has been planning for the splash pad for a couple years. The idea began as a way to honor the late Melissa O’Leary, a longtime Woodstock Recreation Department employee who passed away in 2022. City officials said in 2022 that the goal was to raise $250,000 for the splash pad.

Danielle Gulli, the city’s executive director of business development, said the city had $75,000 on hand from earlier contributions, and this year’s fundraiser brought in another $18,000. Woodstock held a 5K run in O’Leary’s honor in May, with the proceeds going to the splash pad project.

Woodstock is applying for an Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant for the splash pad to the tune of $600,000, but city officials estimate the cost of the splash pad will exceed $1 million. The OSLAD grant would require a match from the city. Part of the grant application is an approval from the city council, according to city documents.

City documents also indicate Woodstock set aside $32,200 for the design and grant application for the splash pad in this year’s budget. Woodstock would have to budget for the match if they get the grant in next year’s budget, according to city documents.

City councilmember Tom Nierman said he is supportive but wants to have a discussion about how the city would finance the match.

Mayor Mike Turner asked if the city had looked into an engraved brick fundraising campaign or something similar. City staff members said they could look into it, and among the other ideas brought up to generate revenue included offering the splash pad for birthday party packages.

“I think there’s a pathway to get to our $600,000 without a substantial hit to the city,” Turner said.

Woodstock plans to use a recirculating filtration system for the splash pad, which documents indicate pushed the project cost into seven figures, but officials noted that they don’t have construction estimates yet.

“We will work towards developing a project that gets as close to $1,200,000 as possible to maximize the grant opportunity,” Parks and Recreation Director Mark Pentecost wrote in a memo.

City Councilmember Melissa McMahon asked what would happen if the city got the grant but didn’t move forward with it.

City Manager Roscoe Stelford said it would go back into the pot for the next cycle, but city Executive Director of Operations Christina Betz said giving it back could jeopardize getting future grant funding. City documents indicate giving the funds back would mean Woodstock would be ineligible to apply for two cycles.

Despite a lengthy discussion about the finances, the city council unanimously gave its support for a grant application. Council members Darrin Flynn and Natalie Ziemba were absent.

McHenry and Crystal Lake have splash pads, with McHenry’s located at Whispering Oaks Park off Route 120 and Crystal Lake’s at Veteran Acres Park off Walkup Road.

The discussion in Woodstock came after the city council discussed the upcoming Parks Master Plan, which has been in the works for a while. The document is scheduled to be available for public review next week before approvals from the Parks and Recreation Commission and City Council.

City Councilmember Gordie Tebo asked if the splash pad had to be at Woodstock Water Works, noting that “a splash pad on the other side of the city might be well received for people who live east of [Route] 47.”

While it technically didn’t have to be at the waterpark, Gulli noted the splash pad was in honor of O’Leary and “that was the very strong and loud message that we got from the community.”

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources administers the OSLAD grants, which are meant to help local government agencies acquire or develop land for open space or public parks, according to the state’s website. Park development grants are capped at $600,000. The Huntley Park District received more than $500,000 from OSLAD funds for updates at Weiss Park earlier this year.