Child Care and Recreation Facility Still Being Explored

A proposed early childhood development and recreation center would be located near the Lacey Complex and Oskaloosa Elementary School. (file photo)

The City of Oskaloosa and the Oskaloosa School District continue to work towards the development and construction of a facility that would house needed preschool and recreation facilities for the community.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – When the residents across Mahaska County went to the polls in early May to decide how their LOSST funds (sales tax) would be used, the rural residents said that they wanted no part of a proposed early childhood development center and recreation facility.

That facility was going to cost approximately 24 million dollars, and would have needed a contribution from the rural segment to be funded.

Without those dollars, the City of Oskaloosa and the Oskaloosa School District are going back to the drawing board so to speak, and their first step is to ask residents within the county about the project.

Oskaloosa News sat down with Oskaloosa Mayor Dave Krutzfeldt to find out where the project sits currently, and what the next steps will be.

“Before we go and start designing things, let’s make sure we have a sustainable enterprise we are working on”, Krutzfeldt said of the step back the city and the committee have taken.

Krutzfeldt says that a building could be built to do all they need it to do, “but is it sustainable”?

With that, the committee and city will be engaging members of the public through a survey that will be handled by an outside consultant to say, “What are the exact programs you want us to have?”, explained Krutzfeldt.

That list of needs and wants from the first concept for the project will now be further defined, and then assessed to see if it’s possible to fit within the approximate 17 million dollar budget currently available for the project.

Krutzfelddt said that he really wants the public to be thinking “along the same lines. If you were designing this thing, what would you want it to be”?

Triangle 2 was hired by the City to be the consultant for the survey that will be taking place, starting in the middle of August. Krutzfeldt said you are welcome to contact either the YMCA or Oskaloosa City Hall with your input for the facility.

The committee and City will then take that information and decide on what further steps may need to be taken.