A group of parents attended Kimberley City Council on Monday evening to ask for Council’s support in their efforts to build a spray park in town.

Council, while receptive to their ideas, said their support would be in principle with the understanding that there is no money available for capital works.

Dave Parker, speaking for the parents, said they were not looking for money at the present time, just wanted Council to be aware of what they were doing. They hoped to be able to cover the majority of costs through grants and fundraising, he said.

The group has had several meetings, and discussed location, finding that a Rotary Drive location was the one preferred. It made sense, Parker said, because it’s central and many of Kimberley’s recreational facilities are in that area. Discussions have begun with the Kimberley Rotary Club and the Chamber, he said.

The ideal location would actually be the current site of the JulyFest bocce pits, but that will require some negotiations with the Chamber of Commerce.

There are several different options for spray parks and water conservation methods can be used, Parker said.

Some parks simply send the water to waste, but other systems can retain and reuse the water or irrigation or washing streets. That option adds about $60,000 to the cost of the project.

Another option is to reuse the water by chemically treating it. That’s the most expensive, adding about $80,000 to the costs.

He also said that water conservation could be considered in the design with low flow features.

Parker says the group is looking at a medium sized park, about 3 by 17 metres.

He says maintenance is relatively minimal —the park would have to be checked daily for broken glass or debris in the drains, but other than that would only require a day on either end of the season to get it ready or close it up.

“If we approve in principle, it’s on the understanding that there is no money for capital works,” said Mayor Jim Ogilvie. “You could investigate it further but Council needs to see a lot more in terms of final costs —maintenance and capital costs.”