City of Marion breaks ground on new splash pad

The City of Marion hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday for the upcoming splash pad at Clifford Townsend Park near downtown Marion.

Construction for the splash pad will start in the next few months.

“Just excited for the groundbreaking of the splash pad, which will break ground officially” Supervisor of Marketing and Community Development Layla Price-Bodkin said. “This was like the ceremony for it, and it’ll break ground in May (or) June.”

Price-Bodkin said the splash pad is one of the ways that Mayor Ronald Morrell Jr. intends to improve Marion.

“The mayor has been listening to the community on what they want to improve quality of life here, and that’s something that he can control,” Price-Bodkin said.

The project is for the benefit of younger Marion residents, both current and future.

“You’ve got to have stuff for younger kids, and when you start doing these kinds of amenities, it starts spurring traffic from people coming into town and wanting to be here” Director of Engineering Michael Graft said.

Construction will end towards the end of summer.

“I’m just excited and ready for it to be open in late August,” Graft said. 

The splash pad is intended to be an added benefit to families looking to relocate to Marion.

“I think this is an addition to our quality of life investment, and this is going to be able to attract and retain young families” Mayor Ronald Morrell said.

Another goal of the project is to improve the Mississinewa Riverwalk that runs through Marion.

“The idea is that along the entirety of our Riverwalk trail we’ll be able to have different hot zone hotspots and this will be one that is really catered to the next generation and their families” Morrell said.