City of St. Johns launches crowdfunding campaign for community Spray Park

$30,000 goal to secure matching grant through MEDC’s Public Spaces Community Places initiative

Lansing, Mich. – The Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the City of St. Johns today announced a new crowdfunding campaign through Michigan-based crowdfunding platform Patronicity. The campaign will support the development of a water spray park in St. Johns’ City Park.

If the Water Spray Park project attains its crowdfunding goal of $30,000 by July 2, MEDC will provide a $30,000 matching grant. For project details and to donate, please visit: https://www.patronicity.com/project/st_johns_community_spray_park#/. 

“The Spray Park at St. Johns’ City Park will not only give the community a fun, unique attraction found nowhere else in the county, but more importantly a free space to gather and interact” said MEDC Community Development Director Katharine Czarnecki.

St. Johns’ City Park has a history of being a community gathering hotspot. The park hosted a variety of recreational programs and special events for kids, adults, and families. The park’s former focal point was the Veteran’s Memorial Pool. Unfortunately, in 2009 the pool closed. With this project, the City of St. Johns intends to utilize this abandoned pool and bring back a community destination.

“This is a project that will attract people from all over the county and we are glad to have built it here in St. Johns,” said Mayor of St. Johns Dana Beaman. “We would like to thank all the supporters of this community project. From the people that “cheered” for the project with the Readers Digest Contest to the many businesses and residents throughout St. Johns and Clinton County that have donated monetarily, in-kind or of their time. We would also like to thank MEDC and Patronicity for providing us with a means to raise additional money to complete this project.”The completed Spray Park will feature 3,500 square feet of water related fixtures, jets, and activities. As of today, the Spray Park is almost ready to open. Of the community’s $350,000 goal they have raised $250,000. With this campaign, the city hopes to raise the remaining amount and finally bring a dream of the community’s to life. 

“Sometimes we create places we love by building on the assets that already exist in a community,” said Dan Gilmartin, CEO and Executive Director of the Michigan Municipal League. “St. Johns’ City Park has been a long-time destination for the community and the addition of the spray park will continue to make it a focal point for years to come. Those who contribute to this effort can be proud to love this park well into the future.”

Public Spaces Community Places is a collaborative effort of the MEDC, the Michigan Municipal League, and Patronicity where local residents can use crowdfunding to be part of the development of strategic projects in their communities and be backed with a matching grant from MEDC. Communities, non-profits and other business entities can apply at https://patronicity.com/puremichigan. 

Pure Michigan is a brand representing business, talent and tourism initiatives across Michigan. These efforts are driven by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, which serves as the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business growth, jobs and opportunity with a focus on helping grow Michigan’s economy.

About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state’s marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan’s economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: Facebook Instagram LinkedIn, and Twitter.