Park wants sprinkler fun





Oak Park children could be running through sprinklers and firing water cannons at each other in Oak Canyon Park in the heat of summer 2008 if approval and funding can be obtained.

It’s an idea that’s been on the mind of Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District assistant general manager Ed Hayduk for several years, but funding remains a challenge.

“I haven’t figured out how to pay for it,” Hayduk said.

A sprinkler park was built at Rancho Tapo Community Park in 2004 in Simi Valley at a cost of $80,000 to $90,000. The water feature at Oak Canyon Park would be a little larger and would cost about $300,000 to construct.

The price difference is due not only to size but the type of system that Hayduk prefers.

Unlike the Simi Valley facility, which has a fresh water system that dumps used water into the sewer, Hayduk would like a more expensive recirculation system at the Oak Canyon Park site to retain, filter and chlorinate the water. Dumping into the creek or the sewer are other possible options.

“You use a lot of water if you’re not doing recirculation,” Hayduk said.

Much of the funding for Simi parks comes from developer assessment fees. Money for parks is difficult to raise in Oak Park because the town is completely built out.

Hayduk expects a decision to be made by the parks committee by September and, if approved, he hopes to have the facility built by summer 2008.

Hayduk would like to see the water park built in the grassy area above the pavilion and playgrounds, but within view of the restrooms so that parents can watch their children enter and leave.

Features of the new playground could include sprinklers that come up from the ground and water cannons. Many new products have come on the recreation market since the Simi Valley water park was built, Hayduk said, so the Oak Park facility would have different features.

Vida Jatulis of Oak Park said she would welcome a sprinkler playground and so would her children, Romas, 5, and Marius, 9.

“This would be something for the kids to do here,” said Jatulis. “They would love running around, going through the water.”


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