Jumping in – a community rolls up its sleeves

The City of Mauston is fortunate to be home to a large, beautiful park created by the local Lions Club nearly 40 years ago. The club’s gift—in tandem with a generous legacy donation made by a former Mauston resident—as well as a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources grant, allowed the City to move forward with the design and construction of a new community splash pad.

Area students considered a variety of splash pad features before voting on and selecting the main element for the center of the pad. Broader public input was desired as well, with Mauston residents and citizens actively involved in portions of the park design process. This level of community involvement instilled a greater sense of pride and ownership into the City amenity.

Making a transformational splash

In early July of 2018, the new splash pad sprung to life. Area kids and adults alike shared in the excitement of seeing their input into the park’s creation come to fruition. The splash pad is nicely positioned close to an existing playground, allowing users to go back and forth between dry and wet play areas within this park. Since the City does not have an outdoor pool, this new water recreational attraction is great addition to help keep the community cool on hot days. It is a free, accessible, efficient option that will be enjoyed for years to come.

The splash pad accompanies a list of other recent community improvement projects as well, including a City river walk, river and lake access upgrades, sport courts and more—not to mention an upcoming new 14,000-square-foot fire station, for which MSA provided a site and cost analysis.

All of these help bolster Mauston’s sustainability factor and point to the City being in a strong position, moving forward with purpose and vibrancy to create a place residents fondly call “home.”