by Arielle Robinson

Smyrna’s City Council unanimously approved an added $1.2 million to finish building the Riverline Park Splash Pad in Ward 7 at their regular meeting Tuesday, which was pushed back from Monday due to Juneteenth.

The city has worked with the Peachtree City-based construction management firm Pond and Company for at least a year to make the splash pad a reality. The company proposed the design development and created the conceptual site plan pictured above.

The splash pad area is also planned to include restrooms, lawn areas, and concessions, among other amenities.

The city’s agenda packet explains the reasoning behind the increase: 

“Geo-hydro testing done at the initial site showed that the splash pad could not be placed on that site without significant additional cost. Pond and City staff reworked the concept to move it the other side of the driveway at Riverview Park which is the design

presented to Council for approval.

“The cost estimate for construction on both sites was well above the SPLOST line item budget. Staff and Pond met and discussed changes to the design to reduce cost. After discussions, the team felt value engineering the design to meet the initial budget would severely impact the design and the size of the splash pad. The concept presented requires an additional $1.2 million in funding to be able to construct.”

The extra $1.2 million will come from the city’s General Fund reserves.

“This was a lot of work put in by former Councilmember Lewis Wheaton on this project,” Mayor Derek Norton said. “…I just want to thank him for his work.”

This past November, city council approved the use of $34,500 in 2022 SPLOST funds for the design, development, construction documentation, and construction period services for the splash pad.

One can view how the pricing for the splash pad is broken down on page 37 of the agenda packet.

Arielle Robinson is a student at Kennesaw State University. She also freelances for the Atlanta-Journal Constitution and is the former president of KSU’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists as well as a former CNN intern. She enjoys music, reading, and live shows.