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November 2, 2012

Will Lake Winnie plans dash Dalton water park concept?

Charles Oliver charlesoliver@daltoncitizen.com

Lake Winnepesaukah plans to open northwest Georgia’s first water park next year. But will it be the last?

“At this point, I can only speculate,” said Brett Huske, executive director of the Dalton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB).

The CVB has funded a $25,000 study from Atlanta’s Key Advisors that will, among other things, look at what impact bringing a water park to Dalton would have on the local economy. That study is due Nov. 12.

Huske conceived the idea of bringing a water park to Dalton two years ago, and local officials met several times last year with a private group interested in operating a water park. Dalton officials even tentatively offered a site at Heritage Point Park for the attraction. But negotiations foundered over funding. The developers wanted the city to build the park and lease it back to them. City officials were adamant that they would not spend money on the project.

“I had in mind a water park of significance, and by that I meant something far more significant than what Lake Winnepesaukah has proposed,” Huske said.

According to press accounts, Lake Winnepesaukah has proposed adding a five-acre park that would include a lazy river, a wave lagoon and a splash pad, among other amenities.

Huske said what he had in mind is something closer to the parks operated by Schlitterbahn in Texas and Kansas. Those are 15 acres or more and include numerous slides, chutes and rides for all ages.

“What impact Lake Winnepesaukah’s plans would have on that idea I don’t know because obviously for the last two years there was no water park in this region,” Huske said.

Huske said it’s too late for the study to take into account Lake Winnepesaukah’s plans.

“We will just have to take the study as it was originally planned. If it says ‘Don’t do a water park,’ well, there’s no need for any further research,” he said. “But if it says a water park would be a good idea or it’s something we should consider or move forward on, then obviously we’ll need to do a sub-study looking at the impact of any competition from Lake Winnepesaukah.”

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