(Spirit Lake)– The Spirit Lake city council Tuesday was updated on fundraising efforts to put in a splash pad at Memorial Park.
Teresa Beck, who’s spearheading the effort, says based on preliminary feedback she’s been getting, they are now looking at possibly going with a larger pad than earlier proposed-one that’s 3,000 square feet instead of 2,000. She says whether or not they will actually do that depends on how well fundraising goes.
On a related note, the council adopted a resolution earmarking funding for other improvements at Memorial Park. Beck says having that resolution will give them a boost in applying for a Community Attractions and Tourism, or CAT Grant, through the state…Click here for sound bite
In other business, the council heard an update on the city’s efforts to become a “Blue Zone Community”, an initiative through Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Iowa. Norm Johnson, who’s spearheading that project, told the council the city has been awarded a letter of interest and that it’s included in the list of communities that are in the running. He says that list of cities has been pared to 58…Click here for sound bite
The council voted to sign off on a new letter of support for the Blue Zone project.
Following the regular meeting, the council held a work session. It consisted in part on discussion on where to go from here after voters last month soundly rejected a bond issue referendum for a new city hall. The council reviewed cost estimates for various options, including one to gut the current building and totally renovate it. That particular option has an estimated cost of slightly more than a million dollars. Another option that was looked at involved gutting and rennovating the current city hall, along with a new addition, at an estimated cost of roughly $2 million. One councilman, Steve Balm, said he would have difficulty moving forward with any proposal of building on to the old building…Click here for sound bite
Councilman Clyde Ihrke said to him, gutting and remodeling the existing facility isn’t cost effective…Click here for sound bite
Councilman Jeff Thee agreed…Click here for sound bite
While the council stopped short of formally deciding just what option to pursue, they did talk about the possible scheduling of another bond referendum. A couple of council members suggested having it in conjunction with the 2012 Presidential Election, saying they feel low voter turnout this past November contributed to the measure’s defeat.
The council will continue to research various options prior to making a formal decision on any new proposal that would go before voters.
