The future of a splash park for Rosenort could be decided January 30th. Spokesperson Mervin Dueck says a town meeting has been scheduled for that evening where this topic will be discussed. The goal of the meeting is to gauge general support. "It's a matter of how many people are willing to take it to the next level and actually get involved in becoming part of the planning committees as in figuring out what kind of design we want and also a big part of the whole project will be fundraising and we need people to step up to get involved in those two areas," says Dueck.

Dueck says the idea of a splash park has been loosely thrown around for about ten years now. The arena itself was built in 1996 and Dueck says since then there have been different ideas as to what should all be located on the rec grounds. In recent years there have been other projects that were higher priority but Dueck says the splash park topic is now up for discussion again.

A splash park is basically an area for young kids to play in, says Dueck. "It's shallow water and you don't need lifeguards which is a big attraction for it," he notes. "So your costs are a lot less and it also gives things to do instead of just swimming and playing in open water. There's actually different things like water guns and water falls and different things like that that are actually more of a play structure than water."

Dueck says they haven't decided on a design yet but suggests the project could cost between $100,000-$300,000. "From my further investigation and the way generally things get done here, I think we'll be probably closer to the three hundred thousand before we get it done."

The meeting takes place January 30th at 7pm at the Rosenort Arena. "If the desire isn't there for it, or if people are not willing to step up, then of course the project won't happen," says Dueck. "But I suspect from what I'm hearing that there is very good support for this type of project."

Dueck suggests it will likely take a committee of eight to ten people to pull this off and two to three years before the splash park is open.

A location for the splash park has not yet been finalized. Dueck says it depends on the design and whether they go with a flow through system or use recycled water. "The two options are just to the west of the existing playground and the benefit of that would be that you have all your play area in one area," says Dueck. "The other option is to go on the west side of the arena, between the arena and the one ball diamond there. The good thing about that one is that we are closer to our sewer, water and electricy there for all the hookups that we need."

As mentioned, the arena was built in 1996 and Dueck suggests the community is ready for another large project. "There's a new generation that will be pushing for a project like this. And we're hoping some grandparents will be willing to step up to pay for their grandkids' future, if you want to call it that."