The countdown is on for Old Town Goleta’s highly-anticipated splash pad at Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park.

The city’s first aquatic facility is set to officially open at 3 p.m. May 21 at 170 S. Kellogg Ave.

“Sometimes it is scary to be first in the community that is doing something like this, and there have been some hiccups and surprises, but we tried and learned,” Councilman James Kyriaco said. 

The splash pad is also the first on the South Coast, according to George Thomson, Goleta’s parks and open space manager. 

It will have 34 ground-level jets that will spray water at different patterns, heights and times as well as a cushioned blue and green play surface. 

“It is really a great opportunity for kids to get more comfortable with water,” Thomson said. 

The splash pad will run seasonally, opening on the Friday before Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day in September, city staff told the City Council on Tuesday. 

It will be open six days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and be closed Wednesdays for maintenance.

“This is a great thing. There are not a lot of places in Old Town for people to keep cool. We don’t have a cooling center,” Kyriaco said. 

The City Council also unanimously authorized on Tuesday an increase to an agreement with various splash pad contractors by $45,000 for maintenance, janitorial and filter services. 

The pad is estimated to cost up to $235,000 for operations and maintenance this year, Thomson said.

“We do have some anticipated starting costs that are going to be higher than what we are looking at for future years,” he said. 

Every day, crews will be out before the pad opens to clean up debris. On Wednesdays, the filters will be taken out and cleaned and the floor will be scrubbed clean, according to Thomson.

The splash pad’s recirculated water will be cleaned at the pump house, adjacent to the pad. Inside, the water will be cleaned with filters, chlorine disinfection equipment and an ultraviolet light that “zaps” the water before it gets sprayed out through the jets. 

Splash pad users are encouraged to shower at the pump house to wash off any contaminants such as soaps or oils to control contaminant loads, Thomson said.

Councilwoman Luz Reyes-Martín raised a potential safety concern regarding kids going from the splash pad to the playground and getting the play equipment wet. 

Thomson reassured her that there is no concern on that front as the playground is often used in the rain or in the early morning when there is still dew on the surfaces.

However, he is keeping an eye on the potential issue of bark mulch getting onto the splash pad because of two planters in the area where kids would move from park to pad. 

On Tuesday, Mayor Paula Perotte applauded former mayor and Councilman Michael Bennett for advocating for the project more than 10 years ago.

“He was relentless, and I am so glad we are finally seeing it happen,” she said. 

This has been a long time coming for the park, which opened in 2019 with plans to include the splash pad. 

However, the water amenity faced years of delays because of the long-term drought, construction issues, supply chain issues and mechanical challenges last November, according to the city. 

Thomson said he is excited to finally open the splash pad because he’s seen how excited children get when crews are at the park testing the systems. 

“Every kid at the playground comes over and drapes themselves on the fence and just stares at the water,” he said.