(Atlantic, Iowa) – The City Council in Atlantic met for about an hour this (Wednesday) evening, and voted to give the Splashpad Fundraising Committee free-reign to pursue funding for the project, which is estimated to cost around $600,000. During the Parks and Rec Board meeting on March 20th, tempers flared when the suggestion was made to use the non-profit SHIFT ATL organization as a means to apply for and write grants for the project. Councilman Gerald Brink thought that should be left to new Parks and Rec Director Wyatt Adderton.

During that meeting, Adderton offered to be the Chairperson of the Fundraising Committee and an intermediary to foster communication between the Committee and City Hall. Since then Councilman Brink says he’s had conversations with many people, and it’s time to move on.

Brink said in the past, a group in town decided they wanted the Trojan Head painted on the water tower, and it got painted.

Brink asked “Why in the world are we creating such a fiasco.?”

Brink said it’s important to let those who want to take charge of the fundraising, to do with out interference from the City.

Councilpersons McCurdy and Hartkopf agreed. Brink then made the recommendation to turn the fundraising effort over to those who want to take on the task. Brink made the motion. The Council’s decision was met with a a round of applause.

On a related note, the Atlantic City Council approved an Order to have Snyder and Associates as the engineers for the Splashpad Project, at a cost of $85,000 (The Parks Board had previously endorsed the agreement), the funds of which will come from a Splashpad Project Fund City Administrator John Lund created last year with surplus LOST/Hotel-Motel tax funds. The Council also passed an Order to approve Snyder’s as the engineers for the Soccer Field Project.