Part of Keota Small Park Okay for Development, Rest to Possibly be Converted to Dog Park

KEOTA – During the public comment period at the start of the Sept. 16 Keota City Council meeting, a concerned citizen asked the council to rethink the decision to take down the pavilion at the small park for safety reasons. Over the years, vandals have torn off the shingles on the pavilion’s roof, which the city feels could damage the roof’s integrity. The concerned citizen claimed that the pavilion was still structurally sound and that he hadn’t seen troublemakers go near it recently. Another concerned citizen agreed, saying he wanted the pavilion to stay, while a third asked if they could collect signatures to save the park and stated that she was okay with the small park being made a dog park, but didn’t want it to be completely removed.

City Administrator Alycia Horras informed the council of the results of a survey preformed by Waterhouse at the small park to see if the land could be developed. Although the northern part of the park is uneven and filled with rock and bricks, due to at one point being the location of a school, the southern part of the park is good to be developed on. Horras gave the councilman a proposal for a small park overhaul, where the south part would be developed and the north part would be turned into a dog park. She also suggested adding angle parking by the basketball court, a water fountain, trees and a light. Horras stated the city may potentially keep the current basketball court. She called this a good compromise that would use the space better than how it is being used now.

She stated the pavilion was not structurally sound and needs a new roof, but may be moved to Wilson Park instead of being torn down, and that something else could be added to its concrete pad instead, like exercise equipment. Horras noted grants would be needed to overhaul the park.

Horras stated it would take at least $8,000 to remove the bricks and maybe as high as $50,000 to fully redevelop the northern part of the park for construction. Councilmen McDonald and Greiner stated they liked the plan. Councilman Mike Bender stated they should develop the lot on the south side of the park soon. He stated that, regarding the pavilion, it should be taken down because it had already been ordered to be removed by the mayor. He stated he did not want to make a rash decision and had no issue leaving the playground for now, and that the city will need to look into grants and upkeep costs for a dog park. Councilman Curt Burroughs stated the parking should be put in soon, and that it may take work to make the north part of the park safe. He stated there was no rush and the current pavilion and equipment could stay for a while. Councilman Keith Conrad noted there was a massive amount of bricks and agreed that the pavilion could stay for now.

A concerned citizen stated she had seen a dog loose and been forced to ask Horras for help dealing with it. She asked if the city would have police coverage again soon to deal with this kind of problem.

Public Works Director Micah Harmsen stated that the stop signs had arrived and would be placed at intersections on Keokuk Street soon.

When going over the bills to pay, Burroughs asked Horras about a pair of payment requests from Spectra Build, who worked on building the new public pool, for $41,000 and $110,000. Horras stated that she was comfortable paying the smaller $41,000 payment, but did not want to pay the $110,000 until after a final walkthrough was done. She stated that, while a majority of the work was done, the rails for the diving board, surface at the splash pad, and a few minor items had not been completed yet, and expressed worry that Spectra would not return if they were given all of the money right now.

Trick-or-treat was set for Oct. 31.