Publisher’s Perspective

By Tim Douglass, Publisher of the Pope County Tribune

A milestone, of sorts, was accomplished last week when the Barsness Park Splash Pad opened for the season.  The community effort to provide kids with a recreational water device pad started almost six years ago when it was identified as something needed in the city’s largest park.

At the time, the city had decided that a splash pad was something it would be interested in installing in Barsness Park, but was not going to use taxpayer money to initially fund the project.

That’s when three local residents–Anna Martinson, Melissa Walerius and Amie Stark stepped up and took on the effort to raise the funding for the community splash pad.

The task seemed daunting to most observers, raising about $250,000 to build a splash pad.  Throw in a pandemic and all the uncertainty that came with that,  and the idea seemed even more daunting.

Yet, these three persevered.  They deserve a collective thank you for their vision and their perseverance in accomplishing that vision.

Last Tuesday, that vision became a reality as parents and children crowded around the splash pad for the ribbon-cutting event and the opening of the Barsness Park Splash pad.

Of course, those three individuals couldn’t do it all by themselves.  It was their job to share their vision and they did that well enough that local businesses, organizations and individuals were willing to donate funding and in-kind donations to make the splash pad possible.

Two major sponsors stepped forward.  Glenwood State Bank donated $50,000 to the project after the three women demonstrated that they had support of other businesses.  Then, with the remaining $50,000 left to raise,  Steve and Mary Klick announced that they were donating that amount to push the fundraising over the edge.

There were many other businesses and organizations who contributed, making the nearly $250,000 splash pad fully funded and all of them deserve credit and thanks.

As this is written, dozens of children are enjoying the cool water from the pad’s various water devices on a very hot and sunny June Day.

And the City of Glenwood, once the splash pad was funded, agreed to maintain it as the commision had promised, and invested in it by installing more parking, walkways and a split-rail  fence.   

Again, community involvement and support are what made the Barsness Park Splash Pad reality.