Splash Station Waterpark rented for truck parking

The closed Splash Station Waterpark will be rented for truck parking, although the deal approved Monday does not necessarily mean the water park will stay closed, officials said.

The Joliet Park District board approved a four-year agreement with Quala, a bulk container cleaning company located next to Splash Station, allowing truck parking in the water park parking lot.

The agreement has a month-to-month provision that makes allowances if Splash Station reopens, park district interim Executive Director Brad Staab said. But even if the water park reopens, Quala could have “restricted” access to the parking lot.

Staab said the parking lot is large enough to accommodate Quala and Splash Station business.

“Right now, it’s closed, and we thought this was a way to use Splash Station to collect rent,” he said.

Quala will pay $7,000 a month to use the parking lot, starting in September.

Meanwhile, the park board may decide in the coming months whether to open Splash Station for the 2020 season.

The park district decided not to open Splash Station this summer as a cost-saving measure as it tries to fill a $500,000 budget gap. The water park ran a $130,000 loss in 2018.

Park Board President Sue Gulas said after the meeting Monday that the board still needs to discuss the future of Splash Station.

Staab said a decision may have to be made sometime in the fall because of the time needed to hire staff and do maintenance in advance of opening the water park.

The park district at the end of July had an $825,000 surplus in its operations fund, although that was $200,000 less than the same point in 2018 when it ended the year with a deficit, according to a report to the board Monday.

Park revenues typically peak in the summer months.