Dougherty County commissioners consider temporary splash pad for summer of 2026

ALBANY – Albany is entering the third summer without its downtown splash pad, and weather experts are saying the summer months will be hotter than usual in the Southeastern United States.

The Festival of Springs Fountain at RiverFront Park was a popular attraction for youngsters and parents when the mercury edged toward the triple digits. Dougherty County oversees the park area, which also includes the Turtle Park playground.

The county demolished the splash pad in 2024 and is in the process of replacing it.

The Dougherty County Commission’s Recreation Committee recently brought up the issue, raising the prospect of a temporary installation while the planning and construction process is under way.

“The splash pad is down,” Commissioner Victor Edwards, who chairs the committee, said. “(Could we) do something temporary we can use at the park for the summer?”

Currently, the county is working to secure a temporary splash pad that would be open for eight hours a day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday over a 12-week period, Dougherty County Public Works Director Chuck Mathis told commissioners. 

While the committee has three members – Edwards and Commissioners Russell Gray and Anthony Jones – all seven commissioners attended the committee meeting.

“We need to do something on this splash pad,” Jones said. “We told these kids we were going to be done in a year. The parents want to come downtown. 

“You want these parents to come downtown because they have money. The ice cream (parlor) folks want people downtown. We need to get the splash pad up. All these folks have been waiting on the commitment we made three years ago.”

The county is working with U.S. Sens Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in an effort to secure a $2 million grant to assist with both the splash pad and play park, Assistant City Manager Barry Brooks told commissioners. The splash pad would be Phase 1 of the project.

Due to the federal budgeting process, “I know it’s not going to happen tomorrow,” Brooks said. “You know how federal programs work, but that’s $2 million-plus dollars.”

There is also $396,000 available that is earmarked for park improvements from special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST), said Tommy Gregors, the former executive director of the Thronateeska Heritage Center who is now working as a consultant,.

Gregors suggested completing the designs “so when that funding drops we’re ready to go.”

Recreation Committee members also addressed a request for $32,500 from the organizers of a proposed African heritage festival planned for Sept. 18-20 at RiferFront Park.

After Albany businessman Omar Salaam and his daughter, Daaiyah Salaam, made a pitch for funding earlier in the year, the commission discussed forming a committee to address requests from civic groups and the legality of such expenditures.

For this year, Edwards suggested that the county could consider providing “in-kind” assistance, such as waiving the $500-per-day fee for use of the park and providing other services through staff without providing a monetary contribution.

Another possibility is asking the Salaams to delay the festival until 2027 and collaborate with the county’s Juneteenth festival.

“My thoughts would be we roll them (and) Juneteenth into a three-day event,” Commissioner Clinton Johnson said.

Even in-kind contributions cost the county money, Commissioner Russell Gray said. A better solution would perhaps be having private investment fund the African festival.

“I get the cultural significance and our ability to support our quality of life,” Gray said. “If there was any demand for it, there would be a private (effort) behind it. If we put $70,000, between the city and the county, behind it and they make $20,000 on it, that’s a net loss. If you do it through the private sector, there’s not going to be a loss.”

The consensus for the committee was to refer the issue back to the full commission without a recommendation for providing funding for 2026.

“We are working on how we fund these types of activities,” Commissioner Gloria Gaines said. “They are invited to come back next year once we have the structure in place.”