Jun. 13—A new large splash pad is coming to McAlester to help keep kids cool during the summer months.

McAlester City Councilors voted Tuesday to accept a bid and award a contract for a 4,500 square foot splash pad that will be located at Mullen Park at North B Street and West Springer Ave.

After its completion, the splash pad would be the largest operated by the city.

Community Services Director Doug Basinger said the park is being built with the help of a grant received by the city for the construction of the splash pad.

“Half of this money is from the Oklahoma State Park system, its federal money that came through the state park system,” Basinger told city councilors during their Tuesday meeting. “The rest of it is money from donors, city funds, and a lot of in-kind city work.”

Basinger said the city’s budget for the splash pad was $390,000 with the winning bid for the project coming in at $380,000 from RJR Enterprises out of Rogers, Arkansas.

According to a press release from the city, the successful bid is a collaboration between Power Play, which supplied equipment for Hunter Park, and RJR Enterprises, the contractor responsible for the installation.

The director explained the city’s current largest splash pad, located at Hunter Park, only has 900 square feet of wet area despite the area having 1,600 square feet of surface area.

“This one has a wet area of 4,500 square feet, which is five times the size,” Basinger said.

According to Basinger, the Mullen Park splash pad will feature nine above ground features, 16 ground sprays with 11 of the features being interactive.

“What’s unique is we have three areas on this splash pad, we have a toddler area, a family area, and what they are calling an adventure area that has the water cannons in it,” Basinger explained to the council.

The splash pad will be nature themed to match the new park equipment that will be installed over the next few months, Basinger said.

Basinger said the old wading pool and bathrooms that were located at the park have already been demolished with a pad for the new splash pad already poured and ready. The city also has plans to build restrooms closer to the splash pad in the future.

“I’m excited to see this project move forward so we can help our city beat the summer heat,” City Manager Dave Andren said in a press release. “This is a great, cost-effective way to bring back a much-needed water feature after having to remove the pool at Mullen Park due to failing infrastructure.”

Construction is expected to start soon so the splash pad can be open to for public use in the coming months, according to the city.