RAGBRAI committee grants funds to community organizations

There were 18 worthy candidates considered by the Charles City RAGBRAI Committee to share money left over from the bicycle event’s overnight stay in the community. Of those, six received grants to fund their projects.

“This is money that was left over from RAGBRAI,” said Trudy O’Donnell, the treasurer for the committee. “We decided to take $20,000 of that and give it back to the community, because it was community effort.”

The money was made through vendor fees, beverage sales and merchandize.

The committee will keep about $5,000 back for seed money for the next time RAGBRAI comes through.

Successful applicants get half of their money at the time the grant is awarded and will receive the other half upon completion of their projects.

“There’s been some really good projects that were turned in,” O’Donnell said. “I wish we would have had $100,000 and we could’ve funded them all.”

Five thousand dollars was the maximum amount the committee was able to give out per project.

The committee chose to fund projects from the Charles City Police Department, Charles City FFA, City Improvement Association, Charles City Parks and Recreation Department, the Floyd County Museum and Elliott Gebel for his Eagle Scout project.

• The Police Department is getting $3,250 toward a new police dog. This comes after the retirement of Midnight, who left the force in October.

• The Charles City FFA received $5,000 to put up new flag poles, flags, lighting and landscape at the Youth Enrichment Center at the Floyd County Fairgrounds.

• The Charles City Parks and Recreation Department received $3,250 to get kayaks and life jackets.

• The Floyd County Museum received $4,265 to get landscaping work done on the front entrance.

• The City Improvement Association received $2,550 to install LED lights along a bike trail and install a hydrant at a park in Charles City.

• Gebel received $1,650 toward his Eagle Scout project to add to a project his brother started.

Gebel’s brother put up the changing rooms that are behind City Hall for the whitewater course.

“For my project I beautified it by landscaping and putting in a sidewalk to make it handicapped-accessible,” Gebel said.

Other Scouts along with Matt Deboest and his concrete crew and Jeff Otto and his landscaping crew helped him accomplish his task.

Gebel’s whole project costs about $2,200, that the $1,650 will help, he said.

He’s been a Cub Scout since first-grade and he’s been a Boy Scout for six years.

“I should be done by the end of the week,” Gebel said.

The changing rooms were Gebel’s brother’s Eagle Scout project.

The fund were distribute Wednesday night at the Charles City Council chambers by O’Donnell.

“This money will make a real difference,” O’Donnell said.