Since Red Deer’s new spray park opened on Tuesday, hundreds of kids have been splishing and splashing, but too often they’ve found themselves slip slidin’ away.
After noticing one particular trouble spot in the Blue Grass Sod Farms Central Spray and Play at Tuesday’s grand opening, the city put up barricades in the area to slow energetic kids down when running between water features.
The slipperiest section was on part of the blue-painted surface running through the park meant to represent the meandering Red Deer River. It’s a section around which there are fountains spraying up water and other features dumping down water.
After some complaints and observing kids losing their footing at the section, the City of Red Deer is recalling the company that applied the epoxy colour coating to remedy the issue.
“What happened when they sealed the colour, they just put a little bit too much of the sealer on it and it took away the grip of that area,” explained city Recreation, Parks and Culture Department manager Shelley Gagnon.
The company will make the fix this evening, and to allow the area to adequately dry for the work, the spray park will close early today at 3 p.m.
The spray park will reopen as usual at 11 a.m. on Friday.
While the city is not releasing the financial terms of the sponsorship agreement it reached with Blue Grass Sod Farms for the park’s naming rights, the agreement is 10 years in length. The partnership represents the first of its kind under the city’s new sponsorship policy, which was instituted as a means of alternative revenue generation for the city.
As part of the agreement, Blue Grass Sod Farms has committed to holding an annual family picnic at the site.
mfish@www.reddeeradvocate.com