Residents of Fort Dodge will see work to improve city parks, roads and bridges over the next few years, based on plans discussed at the city council Monday night.
Elected officials spent an hour before Monday’s city council business meeting to review what they called a capital improvement plan, and resumed talks after the meeting.
“It’s a fluid plan.” Chad Schaefer, the city’s chief development officer, told the council. “We update quarterly.”
After reviewing a considerable amount of information about infrastructure, the council directed Mayor David Fierke to make one adjustment to what was presented. Elected officials called for all work to be completed at Oleson Park on the south side of the city before other major park work began.
“I often hear the word ‘Finish Oleson'” Fike said. “We will get it done.”
street project
A major repair of the Veterans Bridge on First Avenue South will be one of the largest roadway projects in 2023. Bids from interested contractors will be solicited in October, Schaeffer said. Work will begin next spring.
The Union Pacific Railroad’s bridge over Highland Park Avenue will also be replaced next year. The bridge has had maintenance issues over the years and in fact he was completely closed to traffic for some time in the early 2000s.
These bridge projects will not go ahead at the same time as the Iowa Department of Transportation replacing portions of the Kenyon Highway Bridge. Fierke said the latest reports from the state show that work will begin in 2024. Drivers are already experiencing lane closures on the bridge as preliminary work has been completed.
Schaefer reported that preliminary design work is already underway for eventual reconstruction of the intersection of Avenue C and Kenyon Road at the bridge’s western end.
bond issue
The city government will finance much of the work by borrowing money through bond issues. The bond issuance debt will be repaid with property tax revenues and revenues from utility bills when water and sewage works are completed.
Fierke said it plans to issue bonds in 2023, 2025 and 2027.
He said the 2023 bonds will total $14.1 million, of which $7.4 million will be paid in property tax revenues.
As presented on Monday, the bond issuance includes:
• $1.85 million for infrastructure work along Central Avenue between City Square and First Street.
• $800,000 for various work at the Harlan and Hazel Rogers Sports Complex.
• $500,000 for a new skateboard park at the former Sunkissed Meadows Golf Course.
• $485,000 for work at Expo Park.
• $400,000 for various park infrastructure projects.
• $250,000 for the City’s share of the cost of building a new hangar at Fort Dodge Regional Airport.
• $200,000 to create a dedicated pickleball court.
The projects and amounts included in the bond issue proposal are subject to change before the council gives final approval next year.
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