Oakland Acres secures IFPR grant to install adjustable net at city park

Jun. 23—Tax dollars should always be used responsibly, but even more so with smaller towns. Oakland Acres is a community that is home to about 75 households, so every cent of property tax the city council obtains and distributes must be used wisely. Due to the town's size, this means any project can have a huge impact.

So when residents learn an adjustable net will be installed in the city park to allow for multiple forms of recreation, including tennis and volleyball and pickleball, they will most certainly be over the moon at this seemingly minor change. The net is made possible by a $1,000 grant from Iowa Foundation for Parks and Recreation.

Oakland Acres City Council will be making up another $1,000 or so on its end for the new net installation. Mayor Lisa Griffith said the city is seeing more young families moving in to the area. With more kids and families playing in the public park, the council looked for ways to budget improvements.

"We're such a small community that we don't have extra cash," Griffith said.

Jared Johnston, a first-year city council member of Oakland Acres, said the city may not always plan a lot of projects, but when they do it is always for providing a better quality of life for the residents. He and his fellow council members expect the net will go over well with both adults and the growing number of kids in town.

"They could use a net that has more versatile features than just a volleyball net," Johnston said. "That was really important to us. It just gives the whole park more versatility. Pickleball especially will give more adults a game they can enjoy for fitness and whatnot ... And it now becomes a great multi-purpose area."

Danae Edwards, vice-president of the Iowa Foundation for Parks and Recreation, said pickleball has been a huge source of recreation for people the past few years. But the fact the net allows for a multiple recreational activities, including the ever-popular pickleball, is part of the reason why Oakland Acres got the grant.

"It's going to be able to impact more people than just one static net," Edwards said. "To have different uses out of it was very interesting for us."

From left: Clinton Follette, Susan Martin, Cassy Thompson, Lisa Griffith, Danae Edwards, Jared Johnston and Tammy Strawser pose for a picture with a $1,000 check from the Iowa Foundation for Parks and Recreation to go towards an adjustable net system for the city park in Oakland Acres.

Iowa Foundation for Parks and Recreation is a nonprofit that acts as a sister association to the Iowa Parks and Recreation Association. One of the group's main missions is to provide mini-grants to communities with populations of 10,000 people or less. This year, the organization gave away five mini-grants.

"We're just trying to give back to the profession of parks and recreation and the smaller communities that may not have a professional in their community, but are also trying to improve it for their citizens," Edwards said, noting the mini-grants altogether total $5,000.

Susan Martin, a city council member for Oakland Acres and the aptly named "grant guru," played a pivotal role in acquiring the grant and ensuring the city's goal of improving the public park, which is located across the street from the maintenance shed on Fore Seasons Drive.

"I happened across their grant and noticed that it was something that a municipal government could use," Martin said. "They had three options for different sizes of communities. When I was looking for other equipment I happened across the adjustable net system. Looking at the cost of it I pursued that with the council."

Martin said the net has the potential to entertain multiple generations of residents with just the inclusion of a pickleball net. With the proximity of Oakland Acres to the golf course and nearby ponds, one might think a bulk of the city projects tend to focus on or enhance those recreational opportunities. But not so.

The mayor said oftentimes the city will focus funding efforts on road maintenance and beautification projects like signs and landscaping. The installation of the adjustable net system is a new direction the city is taking, Griffith said. Which means other improvements to the park are in the works.

Griffith said the city council wants to update the playground equipment and shelter, but also install a walking path for residents, just to name a few.

"Probably the next one would be our playground," Griffith said. "It's very old."

Martin added, "And it's not very toddler-friendly. This net is just a big thing for us. It's something that tweaks it just enough that residents will notice."