The vote’s in: New Oakland water park is approved

TOEPKA (KSNT) – The Shawnee County Commission voted to approve a new water park going into the Oakland neighborhood.

The Shawnee County Commissioners, Bill Riphahn, Kevin Cook and Aaron Mays, met on Thursday, Sept. 21 to approve a new water park to implement and replace the pool at Oakland-Billard Park. Three options were on the table for commissioners: a family pool, a spray park or a combination of the two.

“In this case, I think that the community has overwhelmingly said, ‘we’d like you to replace the pool with a pool and not a different type of feature,'” Cook said.

The commissioners voted 3-0 to approve a new pool and agreed budgetary conversations would continue in future meetings.

This comes after Shawnee County Parks and Recreation presented the local community with the three design options earlier this year. The survey received a large number of responses from local residents for ideas on what to do with the pool. The county wants to replace the pool as it has become increasingly expensive to maintain.

To keep up with breaking news in northeast Kansas, download our mobile app.