By Natalie M. ZeiglerCity Manager
In any community, parents are always concerned with whether activities for their children are available. Age-appropriate recreation opportunities have an important role in a child’s development, and are a crucial factor in a city’s ability to stand as a great place to raise a family.
The City of Hartsville recently began construction on a facility which will give the younger set another opportunity for fun this summer: the Piratesville Splash Pad at Byerly Park.
Splash pads, a relatively recent trend for municipal parks, are built as water play areas for children, with many interactive water features, such as geysers, fountains, dumping wheels, slides and more. For all the water that flows, falls and spouts up at these facilities, they do not have any standing pools of water. They have seen great success in other communities, and ours, when completed, will be the largest in the area.
As suggested by its name, Piratesville will have a pirate theme incorporated throughout, from palm trees and a lighthouse doubling as fountains, to water jets taking the shape of ship cannons. One of the water slides will emerge from the stern of a miniature pirate ship, and this ship is the subject of a contest we are now hosting, which gives our community’s children a chance to participate in the splash pad’s development. They are invited to come up with a name for the pirate ship and submit it on a form available at Byerly Park’s Coach T.B. Thomas Center, 701 W. Washington St., as well as through the City website, www.hartsvillesc.gov. Whoever can come up with the name found to be the most creative and “pirate-y” will win a 2013 season pass, as will all of his or her siblings.
Our website has further useful information for Piratesville as well, including regular hours of operation and rules of use. Although we will have attendants working at the splash pad at all times, children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult. The website provides fee information as well -- city residents get a single visit for $3, and a season pass for $25 – and the information and forms necessary for private rentals, an option available before or after regular hours.
Piratesville is now well into its construction and will open at the beginning of summer, although rainy days and their effect on our construction schedule means we don’t know which weekend just yet. Soon, we will announce an opening date, and when the Piratesville Splash Pad is up and running, I hope families in our community will be able to join us for a fun way to cool off in the summertime.
