A new, bigger splash pad could be in Powell’s future.

At a Tuesday night city council meeting Powell City Council members voted to pursue a federal grant for up to $250,000 to help construct a splash pad to replace the old frog pond at Homesteader Park. 

The Wyoming Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant is a 50/50 match grant. The city would need to submit an application by Nov. 30, city administrator Zack Thorington said, to start the lengthy process. He said the final part of the grant process isn’t scheduled until August of 2023. 

Mayor John Wetzel said Powell would be a strong candidate to receive the grant.

“I think we’ll score pretty high,” he said of the grant application. “The odds are in our favor.”

Actual construction would still be a ways off and Thorington said there isn’t any sort of design yet — he said they’re in the idea phase — although there are nearby splash pads to compare. Cody’s pad at Mentock Park is already well established after only being open a few years and one is under construction in Lovell. 

Thorington said a big splash pad in Powell — there is already a small one at Plaza Diane — could be less costly than the “intricate” one in Cody or the smaller one in Lovell if it was installed where the frog pond was, sewer and water is already in place. He said knowing what those cost, he would estimate it would cost $400,000-$500,000, with half funded by the grant. 

City councilman Zane Logan said it would help the city keep a promise many have made since the frog pond was removed in 2017. At the time, city leaders said a big reason for the closure was maintenance and safety. A splash pad, which requires no life guard and less maintenance, alleviates much of those worries. 

“I know when we removed the frog pond, we said if we could replace it with a splash pad, we would,” Logan said. 

Now, if the grant is successful, they’ll be partway toward accomplishing that. Thorington said local nonprofit boards could be asked to help cover the city’s match for funding and noted Cody raised funds via a group formed for the purpose.

The push for a splash pad isn’t new. In 2020, the city put one on its list of projects to fund if the general purpose sales tax ballot measure was passed. A large majority of voters voted against that measure.