Iola school board members agreed to take the next step to improve Riverside Park and pay half the cost of a design plan for flood mitigation, but expressed concern about the total cost of the project.
The board voted quickly and unanimously to split the $30,000 cost of a design from Mammoth Sports Construction of Meriden. Board member Tony Leavitt, though, shared his concern about the project’s overall $3.733 million price tag.
“I have no problem with the $15,000 to go ahead and continue the study but at the end of the day, do we have the money budgeted to cover the total cost? I’m not sure the answer to that is yes,” Leavitt said.
It would help if the project were to qualify for a grant, which Thrive Allen County’s deputy director Jessica Thompson plans to explore. Thompson said she would seek answers to questions raised during Monday’s informational meeting with Mammoth, the school board and Iola City Council. Specifically, the grant only covers flood mitigation. The proposed plan would address both flooding and new artificial turf for football, baseball and softball fields.
Leavitt also noted the district had no prior plans to install artificial turf on the football field. Mammoth’s plan would use the turf as part of its design, as doing so would allow the fields to hold hundreds of thousands of gallons of water underground. Without the football field, engineers would need to redesign their plan.
Leavitt also said the fields are not his top priority. He’s more concerned about the fate of three abandoned elementary schools. A development firm plans to convert those old schools into housing and is waiting to hear if their project qualifies for tax credits and other funding. An announcement is expected in mid-July.
“If we find out something about them, I’d be more willing to consider this,” Leavitt said.
The timing is tricky, though. The city council plans to vote July 8 whether to proceed with the design study, in order to allow Thompson time to apply for the grant by July 31.
