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Spirit Lake City Council Re-Visits Funding For Aspen Seemann Park

July 14, 2023 Steve Schwaller

(Spirit Lake)– The Spirit Lake City Council met in special session over the noon hour today (Fri.) to consider additional funding for the Aspen Seemann Park. Council member Angela Kofoot made a motion for the city to revise its contribution to $100,000 for the project, with the funds coming out of the city’s Economic Development account. Kofoot and fellow council member Keith Brockmeyer voted in favor. Council members Kevin Bice, Jerry Harbst and John Chappas voted no, defeating the motion. A motion by Bice to maintain the $10,000 amount the council approved on Tuesday was approved, with Bice, Harbst and Chappas voting in favor and Kofoot and Brockmeyer no. The action came after the council today (Fri.) heard from resident Nancy Vierkant…

“This type of park is not only a benefit to the kids in our community: adults, teens, you can take it wherever you want. I’d like to have you maybe experience it from a point of view of an adult who has a wheelchair, has a walker, who can get up and personal with their kids and their grandkids. I even took it a step further than that and said what about the adults who maybe don’t have families here. They’re out for a walk, they can now get up close and personal and see the joy that these kids are experiencing on the park, right there along with them.”

The Spirit Lake Noon Kiwanis Club had been seeking $400,000 from the city for the project.

Today’s (Fri.) special meeting came on the heels of Tuesday’s session when there was a fiery exchange between councilmembers Keith Brockmeyer and Kevin Bice. Brockmeyer was advocating for a much higher amount, calling the $10,000 a slap in the face. Bice said it’s important the city be fiscally responsible after having dug out recently from a large debt.

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