With the Waterloo Park District busy preparing the city’s recreational areas for the start of the summer season, the park board’s May meeting featured the addition of two new board members, news about the hopeful opening for the Waterloo Community Splash Pad’s second season and a handful of smaller announcements.

This being the board’s post-election reorganization meeting, commissioners Gina Pfund, Curtis Haentzler and Jim Perotti were sworn in at the top of the meeting, Perotti having been newly elected following the departure of former commissioners Keith Buettner and Michael Nolte.

Haentzler, who has been serving on the board since the departure of former commissioner Shelby Mathes but won a four-year seat in the election, was also appointed to the position of vice president while president Mary Gardner maintained her seat.

Later in the meeting, seeking to refill the remaining two-year vacancy left by Mathes’ departure from the board, Scott Davis was nominated by Pfund and unanimously approved by the rest of the board.

Concerning the splash pad, Waterloo Park District Superintendent Don Prater noted in his report the facility was intended to be open for Memorial Day weekend, though a delay is likely.

While Prater spoke positively about splash pad operations as its been tested recently, he explained some additional cleaning and fine-tuning is necessary to ensure the system is running properly after many dormant months.

Following brief discussion among the board, it was decided the opening date of the splash pad would be announced on the district’s Facebook page in the coming weeks.

Also regarding the splash pad, Pfund once again offered an update on the barn feature, explaining that, while the barn was planned to be installed for Memorial Day, additional work is necessary.

“Attaching the silo to the barn part, they had to have a third party make some of the pieces,” Pfund said. “Like I’ve said before, this is the first time that they’ve ever made this structure, so it’s a learning curve. And then after that, they’re going to be painting.”

Pfund added the new target date for barn installation is June 9.

Prater had plenty else to say during his report as he and his crew have been exceptionally busy lately.

He’s previously spoken about a broken slide at William Zimmer Memorial Park, announcing last Wednesday he was able to contact the manufacturer and get a replacement as it was under warranty – though the replacement still has the same structural defect as the original.

Prater further reported that the Zimmer Park canopy had been set up, two new crew members had been hired and new tires were needed for the district’s Chevy – he noted the truck still had the same tires from when it was purchased in 2011.

He also discussed in his report that he’s been planning to install new pavers at the Lakeview Park military monument when the weather is dry enough – though likely not before Memorial Day – and that there have been some water leak issues at Lakeview.

The board briefly discussed the Waterloo Park District Foundation, reiterating its status as a nonprofit meant to provide the opportunity for individuals and corporations to make donations to the park district.

In the foundation, the president and vice president of the park board are set to serve as directors alongside a member of the public. Lisa Pecha, who has been serving in this position, was again appointed to serve as the third director by the board.

Pecha spoke earlier in the meeting, discussing how well the Family Fun Day at Zimmer was last month.

She voiced appreciation for the Girl Scouts who volunteered and the Waterloo Odd Fellows, Schnucks and Rural King for sponsoring the event, also thanking Prater and his crew for going above and beyond in prepping the park’s pavilion and green space for the foundation’s first big community gathering.

“We owe Don a huge thank you,” Pecha said. “You came out, you had the park mowed that morning before the event and the bathrooms cleaned. That was a lot of work to get done before our event… It did not go unnoticed.”

Elsewhere in the meeting, the board also discussed the Gateway Classic Boomerang Tournament that will be returning to Konarcik Park this Sunday.

Pfund spoke positively about the butterfly garden, and Gardner noted she was still in touch with the Waterloo Lions Club about work its interested in contributing to at Lions Park.