A new splash pad at Central Park in Baker City opens Saturday, June 14, with a special event from 1-3 p.m. (Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald)

It’s finally time to cool off in Baker City’s new splash pad.

The feature, located in Central Park near downtown, opens Saturday, June 14 with a special event from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. with door prizes, food and, of course, water.

This project started in 2019 when Penelope Simmons presented it to the city as a Girl Scout project. Her mom, Charline, took over the endeavor in 2022.

“I’m so happy. It’s a big project,” Charline Simmons said. “I can’t wait for opening day.”

The first 150 kids will receive a door prize, and the Eagles will serve 300 hotdogs with chips, and provide juice and cookies.

Grants and donations

The project raised $289,000 in grants, donations and fundraisers. The total cost, which includes in-kind contributions, is about $400,000, Charline said.

“The contractors — a lot of them donated all their time,” she said.

She pursued grants, as did Mark Bogart and Blake Marlia from the Baker City Lions Club, and Carol Phillips with Baker City Downtown.

Also, she said Chris Folkman handled the engineering and worked with contractors to get the splash pad built.

“I couldn’t have done it without him,” she said.

For the final layout, Simmons worked with Natural Structures, a local fabricating business, to design five pergolas and benches that will surround the splash pad to provide shade and a place to sit.

Each pergola is engraved with the name of a donor — Carl and Virginia Kostol Fund, Leo Adler Foundation, Marvin Wood Products, T-Mobile, Steve Ritch Environment & Construction Inc.

Benches are engraved to recognize Melo Excavating, Sid Johnson & Company, and Bain & Lager Construction, Powder River Electric, Eagle Cap Plumbing, Shankle Landscaping, Eastern Oregon Ironworks and Ash Grove.

Donations included:

• $25,000-$50,000: Ash Grove, Carl & Virginia Kostol Fund, Ford Family Foundation, Leo Adler Foundation, Marvin Wood Products, T-Mobile.
• $5,000-$20,000: Anonymous donors, Baker County Shriners, Central Oregon Association of Realtors, Elkhorn Eagles 3456, Roundhouse Foundation, Swigert Foundation.
• $1,000-$5,000: Baker City Downtown, Baker Truck Corral, Chris Blacker Memorial, Girl Scout Troop 50042, Leo Adler Memorial Parkway Fund, Wayne and Jeanie Ryder.
• $300-$1,000: Baker Vision Clinic, Black Distributing Inc., Baker High School class of 1952, Sherly Boman Memorial, Step Forward.

The project was supported by 27 in-kind donors.

Simmons said a sign will also acknowledge the support of local citizens.

“Every cookie I sold, every fundraiser, it was a community effort,” she said. “I’m very grateful for everyone’s help.”

Hours

The splash pad will operate from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. throughout the summer, although hours or days of operation may vary if water usage is reduced on city property.

Users can turn on the water features by pushing a button on the yellow post. The water runs for three minutes, then someone must push the button again.

“It won’t run all the time,” Simmons said. “We want to conserve water as much as we can.”