The sound of children’s laughter may fill the air again in one corner of Milstead when a “splash pad” and park reopens where the Milstead pool once stood. 

The Milstead pool was shut down back in 2009 when it became clear that federally mandated upgrades to the pool’s drainage system would be too costly to warrant the continuing of the pool operations.

After several town hall-style meetings and proposals, a park with a “splash pad” and a small walking path was designed. 

The Rockdale County Board of Commissioners officially granted permission to begin construction on the improvements that are to be made to the Milstead Park on June 24. A contract with the Vortex Aquatic Structures for $34,549 was approved for the update. The demolition and construction of the pool includes removing the pool along with the restroom area to make way for a park and playground.  

Andrew Hammer, capital and community improvements manager for the Department of Recreation and Maintenance, spoke about the changes.

“We are going to re-grade the park so that it is more of a passive park. There will be a green space in the middle and there will be a concrete path around it. There is also a pavilion and a small playground with swing sets right next to the splash pad,” said Hammer. 

The splash pad, according to the Vortex Aquatic Structures, is an aquatic play pad where various water fountains and streams provide a play area for children to run through or under. The splash pad is a zero-depth water playground that combines different types of water movements that will be used to cool off and entertain its users. The splash pad is to be 20 by 30 feet and was designed and purchased from Hasley Recreation Inc., the southeast distributor for Vortex Aquatics International.

 The water feature will be created using commercial yet colorful grade fixtures to endure heavy usage but also provide a warm and playful feel to the park. The playground will not have parking so that it will be used more as a neighborhood park, which is why a smaller splash pad was chosen. It was not designed for outside traffic, explained Hammer. The park along with the splash pad will have an ADA approved concrete sidewalk connecting the pavilion, an open green area and a playground that features swings and picnic tables for the Rockdale community to enjoy. 

Construction on the splash pad and park won’t be finished until the fall but there'll be plenty of time to splash around when the weather warms up next spring.