SIGOURNEY – During the May 12 meeting of the Keokuk County Board of Supervisors, the board received an update from Stuart Grossman of Kiwanis about the pavilion project, which is set to begin construction on the square this summer. Grossman explained that of the $215,000 budget for the project, Kiwanis had $160,000 already in the bank, $25,000 from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation that would be awarded soon, and $8,000 that had been promised by people in the community but had not arrived yet. He stated that he was confident the rest of the funds would be donated soon and that Kiwanis members had agreed to donate the remaining funds as a zero interest loan if the project was still short by the time construction began.
Supervisor Michael Hadley asked about the trees in the southeast corner of the courthouse yard; Grossman stated they would not be removed, but that they would trim the lower branches to keep them from drooping onto the structure. Hadley asked who would maintain the pavilion; Grossman stated that the City of Sigourney would take over ownership and maintenance after the project was complete. Supervisor Daryl Wood asked about the Steinhart memorial bench located in the southeast corner; Grossman stated he had spoken to the family, who agreed to move it.
The supervisors gave unofficial approval to let Kiwanis place a fence around the southeast corner parking spots on Jefferson during the construction process. The project’s contractor, Matt Welter, stated the completed pavilion would be beautiful and asked if a fence could be placed in front of the power transformer by the eastern courthouse door. Wood stated they had asked in the past and been told they couldn’t.
