OKEECHOBEE – The long-awaited splash pad at the Darrell Enfinger Sports Complex has been open since Friday.

At the July 25 meeting of the Okeechobee County Commission Community Services Director Denise Whitehead said the splash pad was an immediate hit with local residents. She said one mother told her that she usually takes her children out of town for recreation, but since the splash pad opened, they decided to stay in Okeechobee.

Whitehead said all the recreational facilities in Okeechobee are well used.

“Our fields are at capacity. They are booked solid,” she said. Whitehead said they are using “every green space” the county owns for recreation.

“The Ag Center has been used for soccer and baseball,” she explained. “I am constantly getting requests for a recreation center which would have some indoor space.

 Commissioner David Hazellief suggested trading the school board for the 5 acres the school board owns adjacent to the sports complex. “We could do a lot there,” he said.

Commissioner Frank DeCarlo said at the Children’s Services Council, “the biggest complaint I hear is not enough fields.”

“We definitely could use more space and more lighted space,” said Whitehead.

She said adding more fields “would take some of the burden off how we are already stretched.”

Commissioner Brad Goodbread suggested a building at the Agri-Civic Center could be used for recreation and also as a hurricane shelter.

Commission Terry Burroughs said they looked for a grant funding for a hurricane shelter, but the requirements for special needs space, pet space and a separate area for registered sex offenders were too expensive, even if the county qualified for some matching funds.