As the item came up about 35 minutes into the meeting, Byers provided a recap of the progress so far and said he was proud of the work to integrate art and culture into the water feature alongside artist Hilde DeBruyne, an aquatics engineer and the steering committee.

Because the projected price tag has continued to increase — it is now projected at $2.4 million — one of the key aspects he hoped to hammer home was the requirement for the construction of a bathhouse to stay in compliance with Iowa law and the cost of recirculating equipment. On a more positive note, however, Byers hoped the water plaza would create a more active community space and celebrate the cultural diversity of Marshalltown.

Throughout the design process, one of the key points of contention has been the use of the term ‘water plaza’ over ‘splash pad,’ which the original Splash4Life committee had advocated for building after four children drowned swimming in the Iowa River in 2012. Byers explained that in his view, a water plaza would service a broader swath of the population.

“We wanted a range of features where smaller children can feel safe or comfortable in the space, and some of the older kids, those six, eight, 10-year-olds can interact with the water and splash around, spray their friends, that kind of stuff and still make it an enjoyable experience,” he said.

T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY — Marshalltown Police Department Records Clerk Sarah Lewis, right, received a 10-year service award during Monday night’s meeting. Also pictured is MPD Sgt. AJ Accola.

Byers said his staff and the steering committee received strong feedback both from an online survey and from kids during the Harvest Market on 13th Street last fall, and the overwhelming response was “really positive and really great.”

“This event was truly an example of community. We had people of different ages, different backgrounds, different languages all coming together in this space, in this activity,” he said. “It really was inspiring to see.”

He shared some of the concepts considered for the plaza, including the ripple created when a stone skips through water, which he said received a highly positive response from the committee.

“We kind of look at that as a metaphor for those ripples being the reaction to our actions and how that bounces off of things around them and how we’re all then connected by the different actions that we have,” Byers said. “This is where we started to really explore those ripples in the space and looked at how those concentric rings could then create different rooms and different areas within the landscape.”

He also touted Mega-10 as a prime location due to its proximity to the recreational trail and the aquatic center and noted the availability of nearby parking underneath the viaduct, at the park itself and on the other side of the street.

T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY — Marshalltown resident and Splash4Life Cofounder Leigh Bauder expressed her dissatisfaction with the current water plaza plans and price tag during the meeting Monday.

“There’s a lot of different uses that are happening here, and I think that’s important to the success of this space,” Byers said. “It’s not just a standalone spray ground or a splash pad, but it’s really a space where people can come and gather whether they want to play in the water or not. They don’t have to bring children to this space. It could be an opportunity to take a break along the trail. It could be an opportunity to play in the water a little bit… So it’s a really active space with a lot of different amenities, which I think is really unique to the setting.”

Councilor Mike Ladehoff then asked Byers about lighting options, which he said could be available for nighttime events. From there, Byers segued into the most controversial aspect of the project, its cost, and opened the floor up for questions and comments from the other councilors and the public.

Ladehoff told Byers it had been a pleasure to work with him even if the committee hadn’t always been “easy.”

“This is gonna make something pretty good for Marshalltown when we get done, and it’s something that Marshalltown needs,” Ladehoff said.

During the public comment period, Mark Eaton commended Byers for his work but expressed concern about the price tag and the fact that the Destination Iowa grant that will help to fund the water plaza is tied into other projects in the Linn Creek district totaling around $6 million.

“I think that’s a little excessive at the time that we have homeless and all this other stuff, and I’m also concerned about the bathhouse being unmonitored and turning into a homeless bathhouse,” he said.

Leigh Bauder, the cofounder of the Splash4Life committee, told the council she would “try not to cry” as she expressed her frustration with the direction of the project and the expense associated with it.

“Would it be nice to have this multimillion dollar water plaza? Absolutely. However, we can’t afford it,” she said. “I wish I could just stand here and be a cheerleader and say yes for everything. I wish I could do that, but I can’t.”

She cited Marshalltown’s poverty rate and the meeting on homelessness held at Veterans Memorial Coliseum last week — along with increased property assessments and the city’s tax rates — as evidence that the project simply wasn’t feasible. Her original splash pad proposal, she added, would’ve cost around $250,000, or $350,000 to $375,000 in 2023 if adjusted for inflation.

Bauder then recounted the events that led to her dismissal from the design team — at Ladehoff’s request — when she said Splash4Life could not support the proposal as presented due to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and safety concerns in addition to the cost. She added that the initial design unveiled last November assuaged some of her consternation, and at that time, the price tag was still around $1 million.

“How does this happen? How does this cost just go out of control?” she asked.

She requested a legal interpretation on the bathhouse requirement to see if it could be scaled back and wondered if the statue in the center of the proposed water plaza was really necessary.

“I get asked all the time. Why are we spending that kind of money on what many refer to as sculpture art? I’m hearing the desire from many for something simple,” Bauder said.

In conclusion, she implored the council to consider a smaller project and focus on other priorities like infrastructure and reducing property taxes, noting that the small town of Epworth near Dubuque managed to build a splash pad for $380,000.

Ladehoff responded to Bauder’s comments and said he had asked her to leave the committee after she told the council not to accept the Destination Iowa grant, which, according to Ladehoff, made other people “extremely unhappy.”

“This is a group decision. This is not my way or the highway. We do have several options as we go down the road looking at this, but not to get the Destination Iowa grant also affects two other projects,” Ladehoff said. “(That’s) $2 million Marshalltown would’ve lost. I respect Leigh, I do, and her opinion and her views. But as a part of a committee, I don’t run the committee. The committee runs the committee. You have give and you have take, and if you are really concerned about items, you need to talk about them. But what we don’t need to do is shoot ourselves in the foot so we lose $2 million.”

Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce President/CEO John Hall came forward next and touted the water plaza project as a catalyst for ultimately receiving the Destination Iowa grant after the city was initially not selected. Additionally, he said the two words — ‘water’ and ‘plaza’ — held special meanings to the Burmese and Hispanic communities in Marshalltown, respectively.

“This is unique and distinctive for our community. These things matter when it comes to recruitment of new residents (and) recruitment of new businesses. They look for items that are unique, distinctive and culturally relevant for our communities,” Hall said. “These things matter when we think about the opportunity for creative placemaking.”

Hall sought to dispel the notion that a $250,000 splash pad could be constructed under Iowa code, and Byers said that even when his company helped design two non-recirculating splash pads in Des Moines a few years ago, the price tag was closer to $450,000 on each feature.

Doris Kinnick submitted a written comment, which was read by City Clerk Alicia Hunter, suggesting that the four children who perished in 2012 be honored in some way at the site of the new feature.

Because the item was only the agenda for discussion, no official action was taken.

In other business, the council:

• Presented Marshalltown Police Department Records Clerk Sarah Lewis with a 10-year service award.

• Approved a proclamation setting Arbor Day for April 28.

Approved the consent agenda as listed.

• Approved a resolution permanently setting the citywide trick or treat night for the last Saturday in October from 5 to 7 p.m.

• Approved a resolution approving the acknowledgment of construction terms for 21 and 23 W. Main St. as part of the downtown revitalization grant and and committing council-designated Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) funds for the owner contributions.

• Approved a resolution accepting a bid and authorizing the award of the contract for the Marshalltown facade rehabilitation project concurrently with a change order in the amount of $989,457.

• Approved the FY24 consolidated transit funding application for the Marshalltown Municipal Transit Program.

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255

or rmaharry timesrepublican.com