MILWAUKEE — The Washington Park pool closed in 2019 and has sat empty for years, but Milwaukee County Parks is planning to put a splash pad in its place.
In a committee meeting Tuesday, the parks director was approved to accept a roughly $753,000 grant for the splash pad, with the Milwaukee Parks Foundation matching the grant to bring total funding to about $1.5 million.
The splash pad is still in the planning stages. Milwaukee Parks plans for construction to begin in the summer of 2027 and will be taking community input throughout this summer.
The Washington Park pool is one of several community pools in Milwaukee County that have closed in recent years, including pools at Grobschmidt Park, Jackson Park, Hales Corners Park, Holler Park and McCarty Park in West Allis, which won't be open this summer for the first time.
According to Milwaukee Parks, the splash pad will be more cost effective than maintaining a pool.
Kaylee Fletcher, a Washington Park visitor who has four kids, said she welcomes the change.
"I think that splash pad, please! It'll really help us out, because it's right in our neighborhood, our families around, some of the friends from school around, so it'll really bring everybody together and give us something to do. You know what I'm saying? Keep these kids off the streets, let them have fun, get parents some time off." Fletcher said.
When the park's play structures get too hot in the summer, Fletcher said her kids need a place to cool off.
"We need those resources, it'd be hot!" Fletcher said.
Watch: Milwaukee residents hope splash pad revives Washington Park after new funding approval
A nearby resident named Darnell said the pool had been a gathering place for the community.
"This is like a family pool, I mean, kept everyone together, everybody stayed together, everybody you know enjoyed that summer, enjoy the heat." Darnell said. "I mean the more things that the kids have to do out here, the more things they can stay out of trouble."
Fletcher said she hopes her kids will one day be able to enjoy the new splash pad.
"Because it's not a pool, it's safe for everybody." Fletcher said.
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