WELLINGTON — A “locomotive” with cooling sprays of water has opened at Wellington Recreation Park at the end of John Street.

Wheels and a cowcatcher still have to be installed at the water feature, but kids are having plenty of fun since the village installed the Splash Pad a few weeks ago, said Village Administrator Steve Pyles.

“We had the playground equipment for the younger kids and not much else,” Pyles said.

The village doesn’t operate a pool, and families used to have to drive north to the Splash Zone in Oberlin or south to Findley State Park, Pyles said.

The splash pad was built using $54,000 from the Clean Ohio Fund of the Department of Natural Resources and an extra $20,000 from the village.

It is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and uses a motion sensor to save money when not in use, Pyles said.

There is no charge to use the Splash Pad, which consumes 5,000 to 7,000 gallons of water a day.

The village is absorbing the cost of operating the water feature, Pyles said, a move made more palatable after water line repairs allowed for savings of more water than the splash pad uses daily.

On Tuesday, kids visiting the park were grateful for the cooling water.

It was the first visit for 4-year-old Lily and 6-year-old Maile, said their father, Derick Oswalt, who took the girls to the park along with his wife, Theresa.

They played with some new friends and had a good old time, their dad said.

“It’s something different — a nice addition to the rec park,” Oswald said.

Send your Wellington and Oberlin news to Cindy Leise, 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.

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