New tank coming for Lake Butler’s ‘money pit’

The Lake Butler City Commission approved spending $52,914.16 to fully rehabilitate the splash pad at Lakeside Park, with work to be performed by the original company that designed and installed the system.

Lake Butler City Manager Kimberly Hayes updated commissioners on the city’s splash park, during an August 4 budget meeting.

Hayes said the original Jacksonville contractor is building a new fiberglass tank after crews found the existing one cracked in two places. She declined a temporary patch: “We don’t need to put a Band-Aid on it.” The cost is covered in the current year’s budget. The park did not open for the Fourth of July.

Newly elected Commissioner Scott Cason, who was on the commission during an earlier term when the splash park was approved, was blunt. “Somebody told me, ‘Mr. Cason, that’s going to be a money pit,’” he said. “They were right.”

Click here for the full story: $60,000 Christmas tree project draws scrutiny as Lake Butler commissioners weigh tax increase