| Nichols Lake could turn into a top destination place if some ideas presented at the Henryetta city council meeting come together. Tuesday night, city manager Ted Graham handed out several brochures detailing information on floating inflatable playground equipment. That could turn Nichols into a swimming park," he said. Graham told the council he envisioned using the inflatable devices including slides, bouncing platforms and others, into a swimming park that would attract tourism dollars from a wide area. |
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| "These are made of thick, hard-to-puncture pvc material," he explained. It would take some maintenance." The price tag has a wide range, from $2,000 to $200,000, but, according to Graham, would still cost less than building a concrete swimming pool. He said it would be similar to a water-based amusement center at Eufaula. |
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| "That would be one facet of park improvement," Graham said. "It will help with the quality of life aspect that we want to develop." Councilman Henry Koelzer said the idea is not a cheap proposition and pointed out that there are issues with a lack of sewer line and the current old bath house structure. Koelzer estimated restoration of the old bathhouse would be expensive. "The cost to bring it back is in the six figure range. I realize that there is a lot of nostalgia but from a practical standpoint, how badly do you want this (bathhouse) to invest a quarter of a million or more." |
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| When he suggested demolishing the nearly 70-year-old structure, he was met with nervous laughter and gasps from council members and those in the audience alike. He said rehabilitation of the beach area would also be required before those floating devices could be put in place. If the city were to develop the operation, Koelzer said some one needs to manage the operation with a lease that would put them in charge of the day to day maintenance. "It's good the council, the city and other organizations are stating to talk about getting things done," said mayor Bill Goodner. "For so long we have just sat on these. Also dealing with Nichols, Graham said he has been in contact with a company in Eufaula that could build floating docks. Currently there is one flatting dock at Nichols that needs repair while another wooden dock is gradually deteriorating. Graham said the docks would cost between $42,000 and $52,000 each. That would still be less expensive than putting in a stationary dock on piers, he added. Councilman Denny Hold questioned the McCutcheon Park location for a planned splash pad. He explained the amount of treated water used by the facility would equal some $3,600 gallons each month. "That's about what is used by the average home in Henryetta in a month." He suggested putting the splash pad at Nichols and pumping water out of the lake to operate it. "It needs to pump 60 psi," said Koelzer. "The city would have to spend $7,000 to $10,000 for a pump. Council member Jennifer Clason pointed out the pump could become fouled by algae costing the city time and money to maintain it. There was no action taken on moving the location of the splash pad. Video of some of the inflatable water devices: |
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