AMHERST — Amherst’s first spray park is still moving forward, even with the town losing out on a $450,000 state grant that would have paid for a portion of the improvements planned at Groff Park.

Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek said Wednesday that town officials recently learned that the state is not providing a Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities grant for the $1 million project, which is already being supported with $550,000 from the town’s Community Preservation Act account approved by Town Meeting last spring.

Though state officials liked the project, Ziomek said there were more PARC applications across the state than could be funded.

“Feedback was terrific for the project, but it was a highly competitive year,” Ziomek said.

Previously, the town has received these PARC grants to restore the full-size War Memorial Pool in 2012 and make improvements to the pools at Mill River Recreation Area in 2014.

Ziomek said he is submitting the project to the town’s CPA Committee by Friday’s deadline in an effort to obtain the additional money needed to have the splash pad replace an aging 1950s-era wading pool and to build a new playground and pavilion.

The design process will begin next spring.

“We’re trying to design and bid out that project,” Ziomek said.

The modernization of the Mill Lane site is seen as a boon for South Amherst neighborhoods, including the numerous families that live in the nearby apartment complexes on East Hadley Road.

But the demise of the “wader” would leave the town with just a single wading pool at Mill River. A 60-year-old wading pool at Community Field in downtown was removed and demolished in early 2015.

Last summer, the Groff Park wading pool opened a few weeks later than normal due to issues with it holding water that were temporarily fixed by the Department of Public Works. Town officials have been leery of pouring significant money into it to keep it functioning.

“It is in very, very poor shape, and there are some significant safety concerns,” Ziomek said.

Town Manager Paul Bockelman said no decisions have been made yet on whether the Groff Park wading pool will open next season.

“It’s a well-loved facility but it is showing its age and has public health and safety issues that will need to be addressed,” Bockelman said.

Among identified problems are cracks in the cement foundation, various leaks and difficulty in maintaining proper chlorination levels.

Ziomek said the upper and lower levels at Groff Park, and the various playing fields, will remain much as they are today, even if work begins in 2017, with the project complete the following year.

“Our goal will be to have it operational in July 2018,” Ziomek said. Spray parks are common in other local communities, operating at Look Park in Northampton, Nonotuck Park in Easthampton and at both the Beachgrounds and Buttery Brook Park in South Hadley.

Ziomek said it will be worth the wait for Amherst to join them. “This is a fantastic project that will infuse a lot of life into Groff Park,” Ziomek said.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.

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