AMMON — A local escape site is closed for major renovations for an extended period of time.
The Ammon site is located in McCowin Park near the pool. It’s a popular vacation spot and is free to the community.
“It’s one of those features that it doesn’t matter how old you are or how old your kids are, they’re going to love the venue. It is one of the most important recreation areas in the city of Ammon,” said Micah Austin, city administrator.
Austin said city workers went to test the mudguard in April and found it had a lot of problems. They checked the pressure in the lines and noticed that something was not working properly.
“We raised the deck, which we were going to do anyway, and when we did, we saw that the storage tanks and the pressure tanks that basically run the splash pad had collapsed and they collapsed in on themselves,” said Austin. said. “We don’t know when. It could have been last year. But we didn’t know it happened because we hadn’t pulled the decking up until that point.”
As most of the decking was pulled away, Austin said they noticed that some of the main supply lines going to the sprinkler were also damaged. The lines were cracked and leaking which explained some of the pressure issues.
“At that point, the Parks and Recreation Department got the mayor and I involved, and they asked us very simply, ‘How do you want to fix this up?’ Do you want to repair it enough to make it work for the season, knowing that these are some serious flaws and we will probably (need to) fix the mudguard during the season, or do we want to try to fix it once and for all and do it all right?” Austin said.
He said that a decision has been made to restore it once and for all. Tanks will be replaced, lines too. In addition, a small redesign will be done so that the city can prevent such splash problems in the future.
“The last two or three years, actually the last five years — when the mudguard was in place — it was repaired throughout the season. He’ll be on for a week, then he’ll be off for a week, he’ll be on for a week, then he’ll be off for a week … and the last two seasons have really been the worst,” he said.
Money for repairs will be taken from the reserve fund of the city. It is not yet known how much the repairs will cost.
When the city announced the closing on Facebook, people expressed that they were sad about the venue, but happy that the city is working on its renovations and giving updates.
One commenter said: “I’ve been looking forward to this as it’s been a long winter with the kids…we’ll be patient…” while another said: “Town of Ammon – thanks for the info and we look forward to it up and running!!”
But the big question is, will the ballpark be open this season?
The answer is unknown.
“Right now we have no supplies and we can’t plan the work. We’ll try to do as much work as possible within the city limits of Ammon,” Austin said. “We just don’t know when we’ll be able to make repairs.”
Austin says the town likes to throw a big celebration when the school ends summer with an event called the Summer Kickoff Party. It’s June 3 from noon to 4 p.m. The city invites the community to McCowin Park to come swim in the pool and enjoy the playground.
With the splash pad down for long-term repairs, Austin said there are other fun activities planned and he encourages everyone to come out.
There will be free swimming, fire sprinklers, water slides, giant slides and slides, as well as vendors, food, music and prizes.
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