Splash pad coming to Rosebrook Park
Summer 2025 is the last chance to enjoy the city's only wading pool
Rosebrook Park will undergo a major renovation to replace the wading pool with a splash pad, increase parking, replace the playground, and add pathway lighting. Demolition is scheduled to begin in Fall 2025 and construction will hopefully be complete by summer 2026.
The city council heard a presentation from Parks and Recreation on Feb. 24, which included a needs assessment for the park, various improvement options, costs, and community engagement feedback.
Rosebrook Park is an eight-acre park on the southwest side of County Rd C and Snelling Ave. It currently hosts two lit tennis courts, two lit soccer fields, a wading pool, playground, and park building.
The wading pool, built in the 1970s, has been patched and repaired multiple times over the years, most recently to repair the deck and surface of the pool in 2016. This is now failing and beyond repair, Parks Superintendent Jim Taylor said at the meeting. The filter in the pool is the original 1970s filter, which makes it difficult to find replacement parts for.
“We’re one major breakdown away from not having a water feature at all,” Taylor said.
Since 2010, the city’s park master plan has included a proposal to replace the wading pool with a splash pad, Taylor explained. According to the presentation, some of the benefits of a splash pad instead of a wading pool include:
Splash pads are commonly requested by residents
Splash pads are more inclusive and accessible
Less drowning risk with splash pads
A wider range of ages can use splash pads
A splash pad costs roughly 50% less
The playground at the park is also past its lifespan—it was built in 2000 and was due for a replacement in 2021. The city chose to delay replacing it due to capacity issues, but also in an effort to bundle other park improvements together.
The city sought neighborhood feedback at a meeting in December 2023 —500 invitations were sent out to neighboring households, including a multi-unit building on Snelling. Seventeen residents came to the meeting to hear the park department’s proposal and offer feedback.
“That’s actually pretty good [turnout] for a community meeting,” Matthew Johnson, Parks and Recreation director, said at the meeting.
According to the presentation, the neighbors were excited about a splashpad, though some were reluctant to see such a major change.
Johnson said some residents used the word “nostalgic” to describe their feelings about the wading pool, remembering going to the pool with their children or grandchildren.
“I can relate, my kids swam in that pool when they were tiny as well,” Johnson said.
The residents affirmed the need for more parking and an updated playground, and also requested additional lighting along the trail. Residents also directed staff to explore updates to the soccer fields, which are frequently wet due to years of play creating a “bowling effect.”
The city sent out a community survey in April 2024 which elicited 104 responses from residents across Roseville—58% of respondents lived one to three miles away and another 25% lived five to six miles away.
“When you use a survey, you have louder voices in opposition than in support,” Johnson said. Without the context of cost comparisons, 51% of respondents said they would rather have a wading pool than a splash pad, but almost everyone agreed that the playground needed to be replaced.
During Discover Your Parks events during the summer of 2024, parks staff and commissioners spoke individually with residents at parks across the city. They featured a flier about the proposed changes to Rosebrook Park and were able to answer questions and receive feedback. “Generally speaking, there was more support for a splash pad than a wading pool,” according to the Request for Council Action (RAC) from the parks department.
Estimated costs
According to the presentation, adding in a splash pad would cost an estimated $500,000, while a new wading pool would cost between one million and 1.6 million dollars, depending on its features.
A new playground of similar size to the current structure would cost an estimated $200,000, which would include flood mitigation and permanent curbing.
Pathway lighting is estimated at around $70,000.
Adding 35 additional parking stalls to the south side of the park, where the pool is currently located, would cost between $150,000 to $200,000. Additional parking would likely require the removal of five trees, Johnson said.
The parks department looked at adding additional parking to the north side of the park too, but decided against it because of extensive utilities in that area.
The city also estimated costs for updating the soccer fields, which currently have poor drainage, at around $170,000. The parks department recommended waiting to fix the soccer fields until another year, so there would be more time to coordinate with soccer leagues and less impact on the city budget.
Finally, the proposal included a recommendation to employ a landscape architect to help plan and develop a cohesive site. City staff solicited an estimate from LHB Architects—who also planned the new Sunset Park. Staff feels the actual expenditure would end up lower than the maximum $19,000 quoted.
Making Decisions
Parks staff presented this information to the Parks and Recreation Commission on Jan. 7, according to the RCA. After discussion, the commissioners unanimously recommended that staff move forward with replacing the wading pool with a splash pad, a new playground, additional parking on the south side, and new pathway lighting. They also supported the hiring of a landscape architect to manage the project.
The total estimated project costs for these improvements would be $999,000, Johnson said. This would be paid for with a combination of funds from the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), park dedication funds, and potentially a community resiliency grant, which staff would apply for if the funding is available.
The city council discussed the proposal and voted unanimously for the parks staff to move forward with the plan as proposed.
Additional community engagement will occur this spring and summer to solicit input about the splash pad and playground amenities.
Watch the Parks department presentation and city council discussion here:
Just what the area needs, more parking lots, funded by Roseville workers and residents who drive by and can’t even see the park, let alone take the kids there for dip in pool.
The area is such a motorway hellhole, I was surprised any parkland existed near the Snelling-C intersection. Hard to view much of anything when your sandwiched on 3 sides by SUVs and pick-ups trucks.