Parks plan approval awaits council at first meeting

Jan. 2—OTTUMWA — The Ottumwa City Council will not be wasting any time this year confronting some of the bigger issues that have been in the works for some time.

First off at the opening meeting of the year on Tuesday will be a decision on whether to accept the Greater Ottumwa Park plan provided by Design Workshop.

Through four public meetings, 10 stakeholder focus groups and a survey of 534 community members, the firm is ready to present perhaps the largest re-imagining of the city's history. The council will decide whether to approve a $77 million renovation to the cloverleaf parks area, to be spread out between 10 and 20 years.

In a sense, the project divides the park into four zones:

— Zone A, which is west of Wapello Street but north of U.S. 34, will include up to a dozen grass soccer fields along the levee of the Des Moines River, while also keeping the dog park in the area.

— Zone B, which is east of Wapello Street but north of U.S. 34, is the Sycamore Park area, where much of the leisurely activity will come into focus. A dozen tennis courts are expected to be built, and the area around The Beach will also house the indoor sports complex, and pickleball courts. Closer to Bridge View Center will be a potential amphitheater.

— Zone C, which is west of Wapello Street and extends to Quincy Place Mall on the west side of the Oxbow, will feature more outdoor activity, such was campgrounds and the likely removal of the Jimmy Jones Shelter. That area would still host the Greater Ottumwa Rodeo and Hot Air Balloon Races.

— Zone D will be the area where Legion Memorial Field exists. Baseball/softball fields would be set up in a pinwheel fashion, and basketball courts also would grace the area. Camping would be available at the south end of the Oxbow.

There also are plans to have better connectivity between all four zones with improved roadways and pedestrian tunnels and sidewalks.

However, by far the greatest expense of the enormous project would be the dredging two Oxbow, creating new waterways for kayaking, rowing and fishing, and designers of the plan say the process would improve the water quality and provide healthier fish and aquatic life. Dreading of the of the lakes also will help shape the park on the south side of U.S. 34, and also cost roughly $54 million.

Benjamin Boyd, the project manager and landscape architect with Design Workshop will be at the meeting to present the plan in greater detail. Also, the complete plan will be shared with the public and council at the meeting.

On a similar note, the council is expected to set Jan. 17 as a date for a public hearing regarding the plans, specifications and estimated cost for the tennis court project that goes along with the parks plan.

In other business:

— The council is likely to approve a new mowing contract to J&J Mowing. The city dissolved its previous contract with another firm because of inefficiencies, and this contract, if approved, will run through the 2027 mowing season.

The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. inside council chambers at City Hall, and can be viewed on the city's YouTube page.

Wapello County Board of Supervisors

The supervisors begin a new era in its first meeting of 2023 Tuesday, as Republicans Bryan Ziegler and Darren Batterson conduct their first meeting with Democrat Brian Morgan.

The board will take care of most formalities for the first meeting, as it'll appoint a chair and vice chair, as well as approve various appointments and department heads throughout the county.

However, one major agenda item will be a contract with Environmental Services of Iowa Inc. to remove and dispose of asbestos as part of the courthouse window project.

The contract calls for the removal and disposal of 127 windows that either have asbestos caulk or lead paint. The price of the contract is not to exceed $132,000.

The supervisors also are expected to hire Tara Kenney as a dispatcher in the sheriff's office.

The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. in the third-floor courtroom/board room of the courthouse.

— Chad Drury can be reached at cdrury@ottumwacourier.com, and on Twitter @ChadDrury