Southside to get water park with special features - Dan Rodgerson

Southside to get water park with special features
The Greenville News - Greenville, S.C.
Author: Michael Buchanan
Date: Aug 11, 2003
Start Page: A.1
Section: Front
Text Word Count: 510

Document Text
Recreation District hopes to boost use of aging pool

By Michael Buchanan

STAFF_WRITER

mbuchan@greenvillenews.com

Kim Strong pushed her 14-month-old son, Carson, in a swing in Southside Park in Simpsonville as dozens of other parents played with their kids on the playground.

When asked if she used the public pool on the other side of the playing fields, Strong, 31, said, "I didn't know there was a pool over there."

Greenville County Recreation District officials plan to change that by replacing the little-used pool with a $2 million aquatic park featuring water slides, spray fountains and other features.

The Recreation District recently got approval from the County Council to issue $2 million in bonds to pay for the project.

Officials there hope to break ground at the existing pool in January and have the new facility completed by midsummer 2004, said Recreation District executive director Dan Rodgerson.

"This is a national trend," he said. "The rectangular pool is a thing of the past."

The 30-year-old pool in Southside Park was chosen because it needed the most repairs. Some areas are patched with duct tape, and Rodgerson said chunks of concrete routinely fall into the pool.

And the roughly 8,000 visitors the pool gets annually hardly pay the pool's $60,000 operating cost each year. Rodgerson said the district collects $20,000 in fees toward that bill. The rest comes out of the district's operating budget.

"It's highly subsidized and underutilized," Rodgerson said. "And we're trying to turn that around."

Chris Cain, a lifeguard at the Southside pool, said he usually sees a couple of dozen users from area churches and day-care centers during the early hours, but after 4 p.m., swimmers become scarce.

"It's pretty much dead then," he said.

Since most neighborhoods have their own pools, Rodgerson said it's necessary to offer more than the traditional rectangular pool with a diving board.

The new facility will resemble public water parks in Charleston.

Water Technology Inc., which designed a $14 million park in North Charleston, has been hired to design the facility in the Golden Strip, Rodgerson said.

In addition to tall slides and fountains, the pool will have shade structures and a sloping floor that allows people to wade into the water as they would at a beach.

Rodgerson said he hopes to raise an additional $500,000 from corporate sponsors to build a "lazy river" and other special features.

Admission to the park probably will be in the $4 to $6 range, he said.

Kurt Lindberg, a Simpsonville resident who brings his kids to Southside Park regularly, said the water park would be a big plus for the Golden Strip area.

"This is where the greatest need for recreation is," he said. "It's nice if they're going to invest some money here."

+Like the idea of a Greenville County water park? Cast your vote in our online survey by going to GreenvilleOnline.com and clicking on News.

Cutline: KEN OSBURN/Staff

New look: A water park with tall slides, spray fountains and a wade-in entrance will replace the pool at Southside Park next year.








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