$250K in Parks Millage Money Goes to New Splash Pad

Dearborn, MI — It has been six years since the outdoor pool closed on the grounds of Whitmore-Bolles Elementary School, after it was enjoyed by residents of that southwest Dearborn neighborhood for more than 50 years.

Those residents will be able to cool off again in summer 2017, with a splash pad scheduled to be built with Wayne County parks millage money directed to the project by Wayne County Commissioner Gary Woronchak.

It has been a multi-year effort with personal motivation for Woronchak, who grew up in the Whitmore-Bolles neighborhood and spent summers using the pool as a child.
“Like so many in the neighborhood, I was terribly disappointed to see the pool close,” Woronchak said in a statement.

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“My preference would have been to see another pool built at that site, but it was up to city officials to ultimately decide what would go there,” he said. “I’m still glad that the neighborhood will have at least some sort of aquatic recreational opportunity to enjoy in summer.”

The Wayne County Commission approved an intergovernmental agreement for the project between the county and the City of Dearborn at the Commission’s June 23 meeting.

The agreement, revised since first presented last year, will provide $250,000 for the city to build the splash pad and an adjacent comfort station. Originally, the grant was $218,000 for the splash pad only.

A splash pad is a paved area with various spray features installed to douse those who use it with water. Last year, the city built splash pads where pools were closed at Crowley and Hemlock Parks, the latter of which was partially built with county parks millage funds.

The Wayne County parks millage is a voter-approved property tax of 0.25 mills, which costs about $12 a year for a house worth $100,000.

The primary use for the millage is to maintain and improve the county’s park system, which includes Hines Park, but a portion of the tax revenue is used for improvements to city-owned parks, as well.

The parks millage was first approved by voters in 1996 and has been renewed by voters every five years since then. A renewal of the county parks millage for another five years will be put before voters on the Aug. 2 ballot.

The City of Dearborn solicited bids for the Whitmore-Bolles splash pad in May and is expected to select a contractor for the project later this month.

The splash pad will be installed where the pool stood, at Katherine and Notre Dame streets in the Monroe-Outer Drive area. The pool was closed after the 2010 season and was demolished in 2014.

Image credit: Hemlock Park splash pad / City of Dearborn