Voters give overwhelming approval to Nashua-Plainfield ball diamond complex bonds

By Bob Fenske, editor@nhtrib.com

Nashua-Plainfield voters evidently liked the thought of saving up to $1 million in interest payments as they overwhelmingly approved selling general-obligation bonds to help pay for a new baseball and softball complex in Plainfield.

Tuesday’s election results, which are unofficial until their final canvas by the Chickasaw County Board of Supervisors later this month, showed that 292, or 85.4%, of voters voted yes on the measure while 50 voters, or 14.6%, cast no ballots. The measure needed at least a 60 percent approval rating to pass.

“We got it done, and we’re absolutely thrilled,” Nashua-Plainfield Superintendent Todd Liechty said Wednesday morning. “I think voters realized that we shouldn’t leave that kind of money on the table and wanted to pay off the bonds quicker and save a bundle on interest costs.”

No matter how Tuesday’s vote had turned out, the district had planned to use its SAVE Fund, often referred to as the “state penny,” to pay for the $3 million project that will include two new varsity fields with lights, a concession stand, press boxes and two new youth diamonds.

But the School Board brought the question to voters because general-obligation bonds come with lower interest rates than regular SAVE bonds.

The measure passed easily in all four counties in which the district is located. Approval rates were 92.3 percent in Butler, 88.6 percent in Bremer, 83.6 percent in Chickasaw and 76.4 percent in Floyd.

The new complex will be built on the grounds of the old Plainfield school building, which closed after the 2017-18 school year and will allow Nashua-Plainfield to join the rest of the Top of Iowa Conference East Division schools in having baseball and softball playing their home games in the same town.

Currently, the Huskies’ softball team plays in Plainfield while the baseball team plays on a field in Nashua owned by the Big 4 Fair Board, but that field does not have lights, which means both Nashua-Plainfield varsity diamond teams play their home games at the same time. At other conference schools, the varsity softball games are at 6 p.m. while the varsity baseball games kick off at 7:30 p.m.

“We’re really excited to get a field with lights and it also means a lot – even though we knew we were going to go forward either way – with how many people supported this,” Nashua-Plainfield baseball coach Levi Miller said. “It’s going to be a really nice facility our school and our communities can take pride in.”

Liechty said Wednesday that the district would continue to work with its bond consultant, Speer Financial, and that work on the project could begin earlier than originally expected. He said construction on the new softball field could begin during the upcoming season.

“That has to be the priority because with baseball, we at least have the option of playing in Nashua in 2024,” he said. “The idea is to have it all ready to go that season. We’re going to get to work and we appreciate the support our communities gave us.”