Monday is 'spray day' at McEuen
COEUR d'ALENE - Concrete workers were going strong Thursday along the promenade overlooking McEuen Park, and that portion of the project should wrap up in a couple weeks.
Landscapers were busy, too. They spent Thursday planting trees and shrubs around the splash pad and new pavilion.
City spokesman Keith Erickson said the city's goal is have the splash pad up and ready for testing Monday. The pad will include a number of amenities that spray water.
Thursday, the SS Kiwanis was installed. The boat features spraying cannons and a spraying bowsprit. Erickson said the boat is an original design made specifically for McEuen. The boat was donated by the local Kiwanis Club.
"I think they spent about $250,000 on the splash pad features," he said, adding that the Kiwanis boat will have a series of water jets behind it to mimic a boat wake.
Other features include a tree that will rain water down and a series of fountains and small creatures that squirt water from their mouths. Crews had already installed a squirting beaver and were working on installing a small squirting bear cub.
"The beaver can squirt a jet of water over the top of the Kiwanis boat," Erickson said. "But it won't be adjusted that high when the pad is opened."
Erickson said the city should be ready by Monday to turn on the water to test and adjust the splash pad features.
On the western edge of the park, concrete workers are nearly done pouring the grand plaza, which includes a veterans wall and new freedom tree honoring war veterans.
Erickson said the eastern end of the park will probably be opened first because it was hydro-seeded last fall and the grass is coming in. Workers were adjusting the irrigation system Thursday.
Other grassy portions of the park will be opened in phases throughout the summer because much of the western area of the park has yet to be seeded.
Construction workers said it's their goal to complete the western portion of the promenade and the pedestrian corridor between Second and Third streets by May 10, so landscapers can take over and complete that project by Memorial Day weekend.