Nov. 28—The need to beat the heat may be over for the year as Santa Fe heads into the winter months, but that hasn’t slowed some parents’ push to create a public splash pad for families with children.
A group of parents from Growing Up New Mexico’s Santa Fe Family Leadership Council urged officials at a recent city council meeting to speed up work on a planned water feature at the south-facing SWAN Park on Jaguar Drive.
“Families in Santa Fe have been asking for a splash pad for a long time, and we’re tired of feeling left behind [by] retirees and tourists,” said Meredith Ziegler, mother of two young boys who, she said, “love water.”
Every major city in New Mexico has a splash pad “except our state capital,” said Ziegler, who led the group’s actions at the council meeting.
A water play element is included in the plans for Phase 2 of the 90-acre park’s three-phase construction, along with a dog park, walking trail, community garden and sports fields. The city council approved a contract for the design work last month, but the new features won’t be installed anytime soon. The next step is a design process that can take about a year, although certain elements can be accelerated.
“If the splash pad appears to have overwhelming support, the water play element could be one of the top elements we design,” said Melissa McDonald, director of city parks and open space.
The SWAN Park splash pad wouldn’t be Santa Fe’s first. Such a water play facility has been installed in the children’s play area in the center of Railyard Park, but is no longer operational.
McDonald said she wasn’t sure what happened to the splash pad at the Railyard, which she said is managed by the Facilities Division and the nonprofit Railyard Park Conservancy.
Izzy Barr, executive director of the conservancy, said the organization oversees horticulture at the popular downtown park, as well as educational programs, but is not involved in the maintenance of playground equipment.
City spokesperson Regina Ruiz declined to arrange an interview with facilities director Sam Burnett about water features. After the Railyard splash pad stopped working, Ruiz said, city staff considered fixing it up, but “that wasn’t something that [we] decided to do this and now the focus is on getting the water play function into SWAN Park.”
McDonald noted that responsible water use is a factor when making decisions about water features at city facilities.
“We do live in the desert and we always want to be aware of our water use,” she said. “So concentrating those types of elements where they have the most impact… makes sense.”
Some parents who were hoping to see a water play feature installed at SWAN Park have discussed the issue with Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber. The mayor praised the group for their advocacy in an interview late last week and said the city is working to get the splash pad built “as quickly as possible.”
“I’m glad people care enough about the city to give us their advice on how we can improve services for children and families,” he said.
Research shows support
Ziegler submitted a petition with more than 200 signatures to the City Council on Nov. 13, urging the city to make the splash pad a priority. She also shared the results of a survey she conducted among approximately 180 parents.
All parents surveyed said they believed they would benefit from a splash pad in Santa Fe, and more than half said they would use the water feature at SWAN Park “often” if it were built. More than 80% said they have visited a splash pad in another city.
The next opportunity for people to weigh in will be at a neighborhood alert meeting in early January at the Santa Fe Teen Center, McDonald said. Childcare will be provided to make it easier for residents with children to attend, she added.
McDonald said she has also made an appointment with the Family Leadership Council, and plans to incorporate the survey into the public feedback process.
“The good news is we’re all on the same page. We all want a water play element,” she said.
Rebecca Baran-Rees, vice president for policy and community development at the nonprofit Growing Up New Mexico, which focuses on early childhood education, care and family support, said the organization has launched the Family Leadership Council to help local parents to become advocates for their own needs.
Ziegler’s research shows “how many families really see this as an opportunity for Santa Fe to become more family-friendly,” Baran-Rees said.
Bigger, better project planned
Rebecca de Melo said at the Nov. 13 council meeting that she lives near SWAN Park and visits it often with her toddler daughter. The regular summer spraydowns provided by the Santa Fe Fire Department are nice, she said, but a permanent splash pad would be even better.
“A splash pad at SWAN Park makes perfect sense because it would be well used and very accessible to many families,” she said.
Through a Spanish interpreter, Maria Hernandez told the congregation that she enjoys going to the splash pad in White Rock with her two daughters, but it is difficult for her to find the time to go there often.
“Personally, I think having a splash pad in Santa Fe would create a better economy for our city,” she said in Spanish.
McDonald said she is excited to get started on the next phase of the SWAN Park project.
“I think people are going to be surprised at how well this project is going to turn out,” she said.
The new splash pad will be designed to be long lasting and sturdy, and will be much larger than what existed at the Railyard Park, she added.
“I’m very confident that we can come up with a beautiful design that is functional and that we can maintain,” McDonald said.
