FAQ:
If the water is not running on the Splash Pad, during open hours please press the red button on the pole located on the Splash Pad. It is the activator button and depending on how long the Splash Pad was off for, it may take a few minutes for the water to turn on. Aqua Land typically will open to the public starting Memorial Day Weekend through the end of the September. Please note weather c
ondition or maintenance issues may interrupt the schedule. Can we rent the gazebo for a party when the Splash Pad is Open? The gazebo is available for rent on the weekends in 3 time slots. Your family can choose between 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm, or 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm and all reservations are on a first come first serve basis. Does Rexy’s Rainbow café offer anything special for birthday parties? We do offer party packages for purchase when you reserve the Gazebo for a party. We have a variety of options from hot dog meals and freeze pops, to Angelo’s Amore’s ice cream, dessert package. There is a party package flyer on the website with all the details of our party packages. Are there permanent restrooms available if we rent the Gazebo? We have 4 single stall restrooms at the Aqua Land Splash Pad that are open on the weekends. Did Town Taxpayers pay for the new Aqua Land Splash Pad? We are very happy and proud to report that very little town tax payer money was used to complete this project. In actuality the majority of the Splash Pad project was paid through the Recreation Department’s enterprise fund (proceeds from Rec programs) and a matching grant that the recreation department applied for and received from the Land & Water Conservation Fund (L.W.C.F.). It should be noted that the majority of our annual revenue is generated from running our Camp Wanna Iguana program. In other words, it is because we run a successful summer camp program each year that we were able to save enough money to finally be able to complete this project for our campers and the town. Our tag line is Support the Rec, Create Community. This is a perfect example of this concept in action. Why is the Splash Pad not open to the Public during the Summer Camp Program? As many of you may know the addition of the Aqua Land Splash Pad to the Leo Landroche Park has been extremely popular - which is truly a good thing and we couldn’t be happier that so many people are enjoying this new facility. However, the increased attendance to the park, due to its popularity, has brought into play MANY SAFETY concerns. It is for this reason, along with staffing availability that the above schedule was put into place. Why is the general public entering the park during summer camp hours of operation a safety issue?
• No control of who enters and exists campus throughout the day: Safety to our camper children must take priority. Please understand that our 300 campers Camp Wanna Iguana program runs similar to a school, we too have systems and preventative controls in place in order to keep all the campers safe at all times. The parents of the campers register their children in our program knowing we have these systems and controls in place. It is the town’s policy that all staff be background checked in order to be near and working with the children in any of our Rec programs. In this day and age, as you know and have heard in the news, this is EXTREMELY important. We would not have any control of this should the general public be able to access the park at any time of day while summer camp is in session, especially with the overall increased attendance we have witnessed to our Rec Complex once the Splash Pad opened last summer.
• Keeping track of campers: Counselors are required to count their campers periodically through the day especially when entering and leaving different locations on the complex. It would be very difficult for our summer staff to be able to differentiate from their campers (that they are responsible for) and the general public children while in and around the populated Splash Pad area. The chances of a camper being overlooked would increase immensely.
• Tight rotation schedule: The rotation of 300 campers into the splash pad happens throughout the day and leaves very little time the splash pad is not in use, unless it is a rainy day.
• Increased chance of altercations without control: Should the general public (children not in camp) be added to the mix of campers not having to abide by certain rules our campers need to follow may result in an altercation. Our staff has no discipline control over non-campers.
• Parking and driving: Many of the families that utilize the park are non-residents who do not know that the road between the School and the Rec Center is for Emergency Access only. Since opening the Splash Pad we have had witnessed a major increase of misuse of this access, as well as, illegal parking from drivers who are trying to find better parking to the splash pad and not paying attention to the children in and around the Rec Center.
