Beam signing ceremony commemorates Lima Community Aquatic Park project

LIMA, OH (WLIO) - The Make a Splash Campaign, donors, and City of Lima officials gathered Friday afternoon for a beam signing ceremony at the Lima Community Aquatic Park.

At today's ceremony, Mayor Sharetta Smith and several individuals wrote messages about the new pool and signed their names on a beam. The beam will then connect the west building with the pool enclosure. When we talked with members of the Make a Splash Endowment Committee, they said this beam has a deep meaning for all in Allen County.

"It's really tying together the community and the progress that we're making. It's a facility that all of the residents of Allen County are going to be able to use, and it's just going to provide a lot of benefit for the community, and we're looking forward to that," said Bob Meredith, co-chair for the Make a Splash Endowment Committee.

The Make a Splash Campaign continues to gain progress toward their 5 million dollar goal of endowment funds for long-term operating and maintenance expenses. At today's ceremony, Mayor Smith announced 82% of that goal has been achieved, meaning more than 4 million dollars have been raised, and we asked Meredith about what this response means.

"We've, thus far, been just asking for some of the major gifts, and now that we're over 80% of the goal, we've been out recently asking for other gifts from the members of the community. So far, the response has been great. I think it shows the level of interest and excitement that the community has," added Bob Meredith.

Donations are currently being accepted at makeasplashlima.org. The pool is scheduled to open in May of 2025.