CITY NOTES: From a new dog area to golf course projects, CC making many park moves

By Bob Kloberdanz, CC Park and Recreation Board

I have an admission to make, when asked to do this city notes column for the Park and Recreation Department I thought there would be a struggle to come up with things to write about. Going through our monthly meetings I am not sure this column is large enough!

Let’s start with what is new to the park board. Girl Scout Troup 20535 had written a grant to build a dog park at Waverly Hill Park. This isn’t a new idea as interest over the years has been there but this group of young girls got it moving!

The area is staked out already along 6th St. by Dave’s Restaurant. Their grant wasmatched with hotel/motel funds from the Park Board and completion of the project should be within a few weeks.

Not only do they make pretty good cookies but they deserve a huge thank you for their hard work and dedication in getting funds and writing the grant.

A new changing station for the boaters was completed by Brandt Gebel for his Eagle Scout project and is already being used often. This is a great addition on the south side of City Hall for people to change so they can go play in our riverfront park.

Thank you Brandt for your project. I know some of the boaters thanked him while he started construction as they had been waiting for this type of area to change out of their boating gear and were appreciative of his work.

The high school is working on a program called Iowa BIG which is an initiative based learning program were high school students engage in a community-based project and find a problem to fix in our city. Our basketball hoops at Sportsman’s Park are well worn and are in need of replacing.

A group of young men are tackling this need and are fundraising to install two new hoops and paint a court for everyone to use.

As a Park Board, we know there is a great need here and are appreciative of their efforts in making a great basketball court. A special thanks to Bryce Foxen, Ryan Hemann, Conor Sherman, and Ian Dailey. We hope these young men blaze a trail for others in the high school to show them young people can accomplish great things.

The new shelters are completed along the riverfront as well with electricity being installed in them soon. We have also ordered a handful of new recycled plastic picnic tables for the shelters. This is a great addition for everyone to enjoy our riverfront. The shelter fee schedule we lowered the rates for multiple shelters if used for the same event to encourage people to use our amenities for birthday parties, family reunions, business or church events, or anything like that.

A special thanks to our local district foresters in writing a DNR grant for 60 trees to be planted in our public spaces.

We have a listing of all trees in the city and are diversifying species in anticipation of the emerald ash borer. A big thank you to Jason Walker for writing that DNR grant for our community.

A new ADA compliant bathroom has been completed at Wildwood Golf Course which turned out very well.

In reviewing rates again this year we are holding them steady to encourage play. Our golf course is beautiful and I would encourage anyone to come out and see Wildwood if you haven’t been there in some time. Our new greens are taking shape and will be open next year to add a new dimension to the course.

Our swimming pool will be opening soon as school winds down and some of those rates have been lowered for daily admission and camp groups but a slight adjustment in the family rate was needed. We compare pool rates from all over the state in determining our fee schedule and work to keep this a great asset for our community.

Victory Park next to the new pedestrian bridge is really taking shape as we get ready to set the sculpture this fall from the remains of the old suspension bridge. We are working on signage and lighting now and will be ready to complete this beautiful new park this fall with seating areas along the river with the history from the old suspension bridge. This will be a memorable park for our community and one of the most beautiful spots along the river for walkers and spectators to enjoy.

Bob Kloberdanz is the chairman of the Park and Recreation Board.