MANCHESTER, NH – City Parks and Recreation Director Don Pinard has been taking it on the chin lately for construction delays at the Dupont Splash Pad Park.
What he hoped would be this summer’s greatest attraction in the Queen City has yet to launch, and summer is dwindling fast.
“I’m getting hammered on a lot of different sides, but it’s all good,” says Pinard. “In the end, it will be wonderful place.”
Right now the hurdle is getting the concrete poured, which is not like pouring a concrete driveway, he says.
“We’re pouring concrete on Monday [Aug. 22] and starting to work this Thursday to prepare. It’s going to require three different pours, which means bringing a concrete truck in three different times,” says Pinard.
At this point, Pinard is hopeful that once the concrete is cured the water play park will get to operate for a few weeks – fingers crossed for Labor Day – if only to work out any kinks, so that it will be fully functioning and ready to open for Memorial Day 2017, with a ribbon cutting to make it official.
“We’ve run into scheduling problems along the way. We would have liked to have it open Memorial Day this year, especially seeing the heat we’ve had this summer, but that wasn’t a reasonable expectation. City pools close on Aug. 21, so the plan is to at least have the splash pad open at some point – even if only for a couple of weeks,” says Pinard.
There have been unforeseen hurdles from the get go – starting with only one bid on the project, which came in way too high. So the city became its own general contractor for the job, which created a learning curve, Pinard says. Working with different contractors for each part of the process, and working to the specs of the structural engineer, means coordinating schedules – when one project gets delayed, it creates a domino effect, and the delays trickle down.
“We have a lot of projects that go very well, some are more difficult than others. This was out of our comfort zone – we don’t build splash pads – but the next one will be done quickly,” he says.
“Yes, if I have anything to say about it, there will be another one. Hunt pool will probably be the next one in need of repairs. I’d like to redo that area and make it into a recreation hub, more of a theme-park type of place where families can recreate. I’m hoping that’s on the horizon,” Pinard says.
For now, he’s hyperfocused on the task at hand – wrapping up construction at the Dupont Splash Pad, turning on the water and seeing kids having fun.
“I’m still very excited about it. In fact, I was with my grandchildren at Santa’s Village last week and they have a spectacular splash pad up there, but I noticed the bucket they have is very similar to ours. Just seeing it in action was exciting for me, because I know how great it’s going to be, once we get ours finished,” Pinard said.
Related stories:
- Splash Pad update: Looking like mid-August for the big reveal
- Muralist adds artistic flair to Dupont Splash Pad Park
- Progress report: Countdown to launch of Manchester’s Splash Pad!
- Construction continues on Splash Pad Park, target opening date Aug. 1
