Riceville Community Club Raising Funds for Local Splash Pad

Riceville, home of the beautiful Lake Hendrick’s Park and the Great-Wapsi Western Line Trail, will soon have another outdoor feature for area families to be excited about. Near the center of town is Riceville City Park. The park includes tennis courts, basketball hoops, picnic shelters, a playground, as well as the future site of a brand-new splash pad.

Different from a city pool, which would include a lot of ongoing maintenance and costs, a splash pad will be far more self-sustaining. The splash pad can be turned on and off with a timer so that it isn’t running when not in use. When it is used, water will cycle through a variety of constantly running water features.

“One of the features that we're most excited about is a giant dump bucket,” said Abby Gomez, Vice President of the Riceville Community Club. “We know the kids usually love waiting for that giant splash to come down from the bucket.”

The bucket will then refill and surprise another round of kids when it unexpectedly tips.

The construction for the 1000 square foot splash pad will include a donor wall, privacy fences, and seating for family members needing a break from the water or simply wishing for a comfortable spot to keep an eye on their children.

In addition to helping with design of the splash pad, Abby also assists with fundraising to make the project happen.

“Our budget is $150,000 and we're at a little over $105,000 right now in our fundraising,” said Abby. “We have a fish fry tonight (March 31st, 2023) that's continuing to help us to fundraise towards that goal.”

Many local businesses, organizations, and individuals have contributed to the project. The First Security Foundation donated $10,000 to the fundraising efforts.

The hard work of many community members and volunteers has also been a huge benefit in seeing the project to completion.

“We're just so grateful for the donations that we've already received from our community members and through community members’ hard work at applying for grants and seeking out other funds to help us with this,” said Abby. “Additionally, the donated time, efforts, and equipment of our wonderful tradesmen that we have here in the community has been huge. We’re thankful they could fit this project into their already busy schedules.”

Although funds are still needed, the Riceville Community Club is well over halfway there.

“We're looking forward to finally be nearing our goal of completion so that we can break ground and really get people's excitement going,” said Abby. “Families that are in town cannot wait to be able to stay in our community and continue to enjoy some of those fun outdoor activities this summer.”

The Riceville Community Club has a planned grand opening date of the first week of August. To help them in reaching this goal, please spread the word and consider donating. The Riceville Community Club can be reached on their Facebook page.

First Security Bank & Trust has locations across North Central Iowa and headquarters in Charles City. Member FDIC.