Old Town Aquatic Park opened at Wayne Frady Park (formerly College Street Park) in 2005, soon after voters approved a quarter-cent sales tax to support parks and library development. Along with library expansion, conversion of both city pools into community water parks was one of the major projects presented to voters during the election.

The park was designed with lower-impact amenities than Sun Valley Aquatic Center, with the idea being that Old Town Aquatic Park would better suit the needs of families with young children. The park currently includes a zero-entry area with play structure, current channel, open play area, slide, and three small spray feature areas. Total construction cost for the facility was about $2.5 million.

From 2005 through 2019, Old Town Aquatic Park operated six days a week between late May and mid-August (based on the LISD calendar). An adult chaperone was required for any children younger than 9 years old. Old Town Aquatic Park was not used for swim lessons due to the overall facility design and the lack of deeper water. Instead, a wide variety of swim lesson and fitness classes are offered at Sun Valley Aquatic Center.

In the first four years Old Town Aquatic Park was open, attendance averaged 14,904 each year. From 2016-2019 the attendance average fell to 9,374. The average revenues also experienced a decline, from $35,482 annually in the first four years of operation to $19,853 annually in the last four years. By comparison, Sun Valley averaged 22,739 annual visitors in 2016-2019.

Since 2005, the operating budget for Old Town Aquatic Park has continued to climb. In 2005, the expenditures were $115,917. Inflation, aquatic staff pay increases, facility maintenance, and now supply chain challenges play a big role in the increasing budget. In 2019, the last year Old Town Aquatic Park was open for swimming, the expenditures for the year were $232,321.

Old Town Aquatic Park did not open during the summer of 2020 due to local and state restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It did not open in 2021 because of budget cuts made to accommodate projected revenue shortfalls from the pandemic year.

Sun Valley Aquatic Park and the indoor water features at Thrive continued to operate during 2021, although a shortage of lifeguards challenged operations at both facilities. This shortage has affected pools and water parks throughout the region. Hiring remains difficult despite increased pay, expanded recruitment, and City-paid certification classes. In the summer of 2021, the City was only able to open Sun Valley from early June through early August.

During the February 2021 ice storm, the parks suffered severe damage. Damage to Old Town Aquatic Park alone totaled $21,593. In order to ensure Sun Valley was ready to open for the 2021 swim season, the City deferred $49,157 of maintenance work needed at Old Town.

Faced with these staffing and financial challenges, plus the generally low use of the facility at Wayne Frady Park, city staff studied options for repairing, renovating, or replacing Old Town Aquatic Park.

In July 2021, staff made a public presentation to the City Council proposing that the park be replaced with a splash park. Several benefits were identified:

• $42,897 operating costs (82 percent lower than in 2019)
• Fewer staff and no lifeguards ($7,142 in seasonal maintenance workers)
• Greatly reduced water use (about $2,600 per year)
• Facility will be available May 1 through September 30 with no admission fee. The park will have activator buttons to allow park guests to turn on the features during park hours.

The current design concept will use the general layout and infrastructure of the existing facility; however, all of the features will be new. This design includes five above-ground nature-based features, along with four splash zones. This design also intentionally includes a splash zone under one of the shade structures.

As proposed, the splash park concept would cost about $1,025,000 for design, permitting, and construction. The project will take approximately six months to construct once the City receives the final construction documents and finalizes the selection of the construction company. In addition, the playground equipment at Wayne Frady Park is scheduled for replacement in 2023.

The preliminary concept was presented to the Lewisville City Council on July 12, and was reported in the Lewisville Leader on July 28.

Kimley-Horn and PARD team members invited community members through social media to share feedback during the Holiday at the Hall event, and 143 residents stopped by the booth to check out the new designs. They let the design team know which play features they preferred and shared suggestions.

• Overall the comments were favorable and residents were happy to see the facility re-open as a splash park.
• Several residents mentioned that they frequently visit splash parks in the surrounding communities, and it will be nice to have one in Lewisville.
• Residents preferred the nature-based theme over the whimsical theme.

Kimley-Horn and City team members presented the two concepts to the Park Board at its December 8 meeting. Park Board members asked questions regarding the facility and voiced excitement over the renovations to the facility.