Since its grand opening on May 19, the MAD Playscape has drawn hundreds of children and parents to its water/splash features and playground.
With temperatures hovering in the 90s for the past several weeks, the one thing visitors have not been able to find at the playscape is a shady spot to take respite from the summer heat.
That will soon change with a recent vote by the El Dorado Advertising and Promotion Commission.
Commissioners called a special meeting last week and agreed to dip into its budget to purchase three cantilevered awnings for the 2-acre playscape.
Commission chairman and El Dorado alderman Dianne Hammond brought the issue before the commission.
“(Commissioner and Alderman) Judy Ward and I have had several people ask us about this, especially older people who are taking their grandkids. They don’t have any shade,” Hammond said.
She said she checked MAD officials “to see if they had any plans for shade” and learned there were no such plans in the works.
Hammond said she then contacted the Little Rock-based Kyle Recreation, Inc., with whom the city worked in recent years to purchase new playground and other equipment for several public parks.
Hammond said the cost to purchase and install the awnings at MAD would be $20,877.43.
Additionally, Hammond said she consulted with architectural engineers who designed the playscape.
She said they studied the park, taking a look at underground wiring and other utilities, and identified areas to install the awnings, one of which will be placed near the splash pad.
“We let the engineer and MAD pick out those areas because they’ve got the design plan, and they know what works,” Hammond said.
Hammond said she also spoke with Director of Public Works Robert Edmonds, who said the city could possibly install the equipment at a lower cost.
Hammond noted that the city engaged Kyle in a similar arrangement with the equipment that was installed in other public parks.
Commissioners Barry Bagwell and Sanjay Patel asked if allowing another contractor to do the work would affect the warranty on the playscape equipment and where the project would fall on the city’s list of priorities.
“It generally doesn’t (affect the warranty). We have a contractor who installed all of our other equipment, Mattox Construction,” Mayor Frank Hash said.
“The splash pad is already city property, but you’re putting a public asset on city property,” the mayor continued. “The site’s ready, so it won’t be difficult to install. It’ll probably be top priority because we’re getting it for the comfort of the folks down there.”
The city has committed $13 million of economic development tax dollars toward the development of MAD.
A portion of the money was used to purchase property, including the playscape site, and lease the property to MAD at a nominal rate.
As part of the agreement with the city, MAD operates and maintains the facilities, and Hash said MAD will be responsible for replacing the awnings and posts once the warranties expire.
Ward said she had been asked if the awnings would come down in the wintertime, noting, “We don’t get a lot of snow.”
“We get ice, and ice is pretty heavy,” Bagwell said.
The awnings come with a five-year warranty, and the warranty for the posts covers 10 to 15 years, Hammond said.
She said there have also been discussions about the lack of seating at the playscape, and Ward said MAD has plans to purchase picnic tables with umbrellas.
Commissioners approved an amount up to $20,877.43 for the awnings. Patel said the money will likely be pulled from non-designated funds in the A&P’s 2018 budget.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or by email at tlyons@ eldoradonews.com.