Last week’s meeting of the Waterloo Park District Board had little on the agenda with summer in full-swing,  though commissioners did discuss the recent opening of the Waterloo Community Splash Pad, activity at Konarcik Park and some smaller matters.

Waterloo Park Board Commissioner Gina Pfund was the first to discuss the splash pad as she once again gave an update on communications with a representative from Rain Drop Products regarding the main barn feature which continues to be just on the horizon.

“The barn structure was not put into place this past Monday on June 9 like they had said, but he had told me hopefully mid-summer, by the end of June,” Pfund said. “There was a problem with the platform area at the top of the steps; it was not meeting code. They had to redo it. It’s been redone, and it now meets code, so they were taking it apart and sending it to be painted… It looks like we’re making progress.”

Regarding the barn feature, the Waterloo Park District posted on its Facebook page Tuesday afternoon that it is set to be installed starting June 30, with the splash pad closed for a few days.

Splash pad discussion continued as Park District Superintendent Don Prater gave his monthly report, noting how the facility was backwashed for the first time this season, with tests generally going well, though some mechanical difficulties with one element of the plumbing is set to require some outside assistance.

Near the end of the meeting, the splash pad was once again brought up in discussion as Pfund encouraged fellow commissioners to remind any members of the public using the facility that food is not allowed inside the splash pad as it can cause issues with the drainage and sprayers.

Konarcik Park came up as commissioner Jim Perotti spoke about his efforts there, adding a kiosk or bulletin board to present a map of the park as well as a list of business sponsors for the facilities there.

“The idea is to get the people over to Waterloo after they play or when they’re at the park and get some of those sponsors some business,” Perotti said. “That is in the works… It’s looking great. My goal is to get it into one of the top-rated ones in the state.”

The kiosk is currently in the design phase, and is set to be the latest addition to Konarcik Park following renovations made to the disc golf course.

For other discussion matters, Pfund noted how she heard a rumor the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department had been contacted about waste being smeared in the bathroom at William Zimmer Memorial Park.

Though Prater confirmed this was not true, he did note that vandalism at the parks tends to increase at the start of each summer before calming down.

Prater also in his report spoke about getting pea gravel for the Tot-Lot playground, with the board giving approval for him to purchase 10-15 tons at $48 per ton should the Waterloo Optimist Club – which often handles maintenance projects for the playground – not do so themselves soon.

In his attorney’s report, Paul Schimpf discussed the district’s website and Facebook page, indicating to commissioners his plans to reach out and give them the opportunity to individually introduce themselves to the community via videos posted in the near future.

The only action item on the agenda concerned changes to meeting procedure policy, with the board approving that guest comments before the board must be about park district matters.