New Environmental Learning Center Gains Financial Approval

Mahaska County Supervisors discuss the new environmental learning center costs with Dave Sedivec on Friday.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Plans for a new environmental learning center can be traced back to 2008. Now, nearly a decade later, the vision will become a reality.

The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors approved the expenditure of 3.675 million dollars. The funding will come from the sale of the old county farm, and local option sales tax, which allowed for up to 20% to be used for the project.

The Mahaska County Conservation Board held their official bid opening on Thursday afternoon, with the board holding their meeting later that evening to discuss the overall costs.

The building cost is more than what the conservation board wanted, but with increased construction costs since the latest plans were developed, there were few options left without removing services.

Mammoth bones hadn’t been discovered when the project was first being put to paper, and revisions needed to be made to house and display those local treasures. The building will also house information technology [IT] backups for the county, which also wasn’t in the original plans for the building.

Mahaska County Conservation Director Dave Sedivec says the plans are to have the building enclosed by this fall. Interior work on the new structure will take place over the winter months.

“I’d like to see us in there by July 1st next year,” says Sedivec.

The conservation board will be fundraising for new displays to fill the new facility. “None of the displays are included,” says Sedivec of the building project.

The Mahaska County Learning Center at Caldwell Park will become the primary nature center for the county, but some events will still be held at Russell Wildlife Center in the future.

Those events scheduled for Russell Wildlife Center include a youth outdoor field day, and keeping access to the fossil beds located at that facility open.

The new facility will enable more people to enjoy the programming offered by the conservation department. Being located off a paved highway, and approximately one-half of a mile outside Oskaloosa along the recreation trail may increase traffic and visibility for such events.

You can learn more about Mahaska County Conservation and their upcoming events by visiting their website at – http://www.mahaskaconservation.com/