Harwich commission moves to scale back splash pad plan

Other Committee · Meeting of September 8, 2026

Harwich Recreation and Youth Commission balks at a $734,000 splash pad estimate. At a September 8 special meeting, landscape architect Eric walked the board through a full-build concept for a roughly 2,500-square-foot splash pad, pricing eleven water features, site work and "soft costs" like design, permitting and shipping at a combined $734,000, including a 15 percent contingency. Commission member Dave Nixon called that figure "totally out of anything I would even consider supporting personally," and members converged around a working target near $500,000.

Going feature by feature, the board cut roughly $85,000 in equipment costs, dropping a log flume, a duplicate animal-shaped spray feature, a jet barrel and a ship's mast, while keeping a favorite roughly $40,000 slide. Recreation Director Neil called the full-featured starting point "the right place to start." The commission reconvenes September 22 with revised numbers ahead of a Community Preservation Committee funding deadline.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,801 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of September 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.