2020 has been a year unlike any other, but despite the challenges and frustrations, it also brought about determination and the will to persevere…and that’s exactly what Eagle Grove has done in the last 12 months.
“Whether it’s COVID or not, we’re still moving forward and looking to the future,” said Eagle Grove Mayor Sandy McGrath.
“It’s progress over pandemic,” added Eagle Grove City Administrator Bryce Davis about all that has been accomplished in our community in the last year.
Yes, COVID forced some adjustments for both the City’s budget and how things were handled, but some good also came of this. For starters, City Hall was forced to close their doors to the public (open by appointment only) to help contain the spread of COVID-19, but out of that, according to Davis, came easier methods to pay your water bills. In addition to the drop box located by the front door of City hall, you can now also make payments either online or over the phone. These two new options will remain in place even after COVID is under control because the public has responded very well to them and like the ease of not having to physically come down to City Hall. Davis said they are also currently in the process of setting up a new payment system that will allow you to use your credit card and it allows you to see your bill in “real time.” It’s something good that they made out of a bad situation.
The budget was also affected, as there was an increased need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for front line workers and first responders. The good news is, that money didn’t all come out of taxpayer dollars as the City received $78,000 from COVID relief to help make up those dollars.
“We’re doing everything we can (for the budget) through funding and grants to relieve strain on local taxes from COVID,” said McGrath.
Despite the affects of COVID and how the City needed to operate, McGrath and Davis were able to focus their attention on progress of the community as a whole.
Hewett Park
Work on the park in the southwest part of Eagle Grove actually began in 2019 with the demolition of the old tennis courts, making way for what was built in it’s place between May and July of 2020. The park now features a multi-purpose court, which can facilitate tennis, pickleball, and more. The basketball court was also overhauled and mulch was placed around the playground equipment for a safer play area. The money for this $140,000 renovation came from sales tax dollars as well as a generous donation from the James R. Johnson Trust Fund. They are also proud to say that they used as many local businesses as possible for this project including seed work done by Eagle Grove Greenhouses, Inc. and fabric under the mulch purchased at Bomgaars with city employees putting that down.
The Grove Inn & Suites
The conversation about a new hotel in Eagle Grove actually began back in 2014. In 2017, the talks gat a lot more series, and in 2019, construction on the project began. Eagle Grove’s new two-story, 32-room, 18,000 square foot hotel officially opened for business in July 2020, only about two months after its target date. Delayed shipping due to COVID and less people being able to work inside the building at one time were the main contributors for this delay, but all things considered, McGrath and Davis were very pleased with a July opening date of the $2.7 million project.
“Opening up in the midst of COVID wasn’t ideal because the hotel industry fell dramatically, just like the restaurant business,” said Davis. “What we anticipated at the start of the project was that weekends would be booked due to family events and things of that nature. What we’re seeing is substantially higher weekday bookings that were never projected…the last couple of months we’ve averaged about 60% occupancy during the week, which is over our estimated amount. Despite COVID, the hotel is operating as anticipated, if not better.”
McGrath added, “It actually has been a great asset for the City of Eagle Grove and the people traveling here as a destination. Eventually it will generate some hotel/motel tax that will be used specifically for tourism, parks and recreation, and things like that.”
Both McGrath and Davis are grateful for the hard work of the group of investors and organizers who made this project a success.
“Anytime we can have people come to Eagle Grove, whether it’s to visit, or business, and offer them somewhere to stay in our city, is obviously a positive to us,” said McGrath.
Local businesses used in the project included Oldsons Plumbing and Heating for the A/C unit, Pok-a-Dot Plumbing and Welding for welding, and Eagle Grove Greenhouses, Inc. for seeding. Some of the furniture was bought at Christ Furniture. Jim Christ picked out the mattresses that are in the hotel.
The Capital Improvement Plan also looks at city infrastructure, city assets, and is used when writing grants to show that the city has a comprehensive and Capital Improvement Plan to keep your community moving forward.
Façade and Streetscapes
Construction contracts were signed in Sept. 2020 for the downtown building façade renovation as well as the downtown streetscape projects that will begin work in spring of 2021.
“It’s a go, we’re just waiting for better weather,” said Davis.
Street projects
Three years ago the City began a Capital Improvement Plan. In that was a pavement improvement plan.
“We’ve been using that diligently to plan the projects that we’ve completed, the projects we have upcoming…having that Capital Improvement Plan completed has been a great tool for getting all of these street projects done, “ said McGrath.
She added that the plan helps the City move faster through it because Davis doesn’t have to go back and look at the roads/streets each year and reassess which ones are the worst. It’s all down on paper right in front of him. Then it can go to Public Works committee and then proceed to the City Council for approval.
For those who are wondering, Davis gave a glimpse into how roads are chosen to be prepared.
“We use pavement condition to better understand actual rated roads – basically it takes all the roads and baselines them, assigning a number between zero and 100. One hundred is a perfect street. Zero is not a street, basically a gravel road that floods.
“What you really want to look at is your long-term plan on fixing your roadway infrastructure,” said Davis. “Typically what communities do is 10 blocks of mill and overlay
…but the City of Eagle Grove’s strategy deals with the most important parts of a roadway.”
He explained that is not necessarily what the public can see – it’s not always the top of the roadway. The most important part of the road is the sub base. A new coat of asphalt over a bad base will only produce more cracks in the next five years because water will still get through it.
“When we fix our roads it’s about sustainability…not just putting a bandage on them,” added McGrath.
The second most important part of a street is the curb and appropriate drainage. The goal of a curb is to get the water to a drain.
“With a flat town (like Eagle Grove) it’s hard to get the water off a road and make your roads last longer…so the approach we’ve taken in the last couple of years is to build a sustainable approach to do a significant amount of infrastructure each year,” said Davis.
One is financing and two is blocking out roads in the same general area that require the same general kind of construction to cut down on costs. In 2020, according to Davis, they did six blocks of roadway construction. In 2021, they have another six blocks scheduled using concrete instead of asphalt because there will be a couple of big concrete companies in town next summer anyway for other projects that having them do it while they are here will help decrease the cost.
In 2020 the City also did roughly 20 patches of roadways, laying down fresh asphalt due to frost boils or significant cracking. A bad sub-base causes this. Davis said patches are used to help alleviate city labor and also fix roads until the road fails completely and then it’s cheaper to repair, adding 6” – 10” of asphalt rather than the old way of only doing 2”.
NW 1st Street is the next street that will be reconstructed with concrete and it should last over 30 years.
“We are investing in streets for generations, not just for today,” said Davis.
In 2020 they also replaced 18 manholes throughout the City, are in the process of lining 4200 linear feet of sanitary main, replaced four water main extensions, eight hydrants, and three valves, and upgraded the generator at the water plant to an automatic transfer. In 2021 they look to add another generator to the deep wells that do about 700 gallons per minute so if there is a water main break and the power goes out at the same time (which has happened in the past) they can still produce 1200 gallons per minute of water and not have to go to a boil order.
“We’re making steps to firm up our water supply,” said Davis.
Residential Subdivision
The new residential area on the southeast side of Eagle Grove is finished and ready for homeowners to buy lots for building new houses. There are 12 plots for sale before spring for 2021 construction to begin. Davis said the subdivision can and will be expanded for more houses as demand requires.
The cost of the project came in around $650,000.
Davis said that they realize COVID may also affect how quickly these lots are sold. The pandemic, along with the number of forest fires in California, lumber prices have gone up 200-300%. However, Davis has heard that those prices will begin to level off by summer of this year so is very optimistic that people will be looking to build new homes again.
“I anticipate we will see home-dwelling growth in 2021…with record low interest rates…it’s the perfect time to build,” said Davis. “I’ve had interest for apartments and single-dwelling homes.”
This development adds value to the city in the tax dollars. The school district will also benefit when these homes are built, hopefully housing new students.
Wellness Center
2020 brought the planning for the 24,000 sq. ft. expansion of the Eagle Grove Wellness Center to include recreation facilities for youth sports. McGrath and Davis are excited to have that legwork done and make this one of the main projects of 2021. They look to have construction and plan specs finalized for this $2.7 million project by the end of this month. The only money left to raise for the initial phase of this project is $125,000. Any and all contributions are appreciated, but Davis noted that they also have a couple of grants that they will be applying for to help them reach that goal. The priority is to get the building up, and then add in the extras, like a racquetball court or a commercial grill for example, as more money comes in.
“We’re in a place where we can get it built, it’s just dependent on what amenities we can start off with,” said Davis.
There are many other great programs in the works for adult community members as well. Stay tuned as the building gets closer to completion.
The goal is to have it built and open for use by fall of 2021.
The progress of Eagle Grove
“We have proven that the City of Eagle Grove is always looking to keep moving forward,” said McGrath. “Yes we have COVID. Yes we had to modify how we interacted and the guidelines we had to follow, but that didn’t mean we had to roll over and not continue to move forward with the projects of the future. We couldn’t waste time stepping back and worrying what the future would bring,” said McGrath. “We had to keep going forward.
She added that she never really saw COVID as something that would stop future projects of Eagle Grove. There are still the same housing needs, amenity needs, youth needs, and more. The streets aren’t going to go away, they are still going to need fixing and improvements.
“If we stopped projects every time something else big, bad, and ugly showed up, none of us would get anywhere,” said McGrath.
It adds an extra layer of work for all involved, but Davis and McGrath know that taking the easy way out is not what they are hired/elected to do. It’s their job to keep things moving…and they have.
“COVID isn’t stopping us,” said McGrath. “As long as I’m here, and Bryce is here, we’ll keep moving forward no matter what.”
Changes
2021 will bring some changes, no doubt. One of them deals with an amendment made by the City Council to allow Davis to move outside of City limits per his request.
“He has proved that he is committed to the community and the progress of Eagle Grove and is not afraid of the hard work that goes with it,” said McGrath of the Council’s approval of his request.
“It’s all about teamwork…and I have faith that he believes in Eagle Grove. It doesn’t concern me that he will live out of town. I trust him and what he does.”
Per the amendment, the situation will be reviewed in 120 days to make sure the arrangement is working for all parties involved.
What other changes will come to Eagle Grove this year? No one can know. But what we can be sure of is that our City leaders have only the best of intentions and are taking every opportunity, and defeating every challenge, to keep us moving forward into the future.
