What’s the future of recreation and child care in Oskaloosa and the Mahaska community?
Oskaloosa Iowa
Public meetings being held Thursday, May 28, at 11:30 and 6 pm, in Penn Central Mall (across from Label Shopper) will begin to unveil answers to that question.
In February, the Mahaska Community Development Group (MCDG) and Mahaska YMCA launched a study to determine what indoor recreation and early childhood education facilities and programs need to be in place to serve the community.
Preliminary results of the community input process will be presented at the public meetings by Matt Coen of Walker/Coen/Lorentzen Architects, who is leading the study. Coen, a native of Oskaloosa, will also present possible scenarios for providing indoor recreation and early childhood services.
“We are very excited to hear what residents had to say about indoor recreation and early childhood programming,” said Andrew Jensen, MCDG Director. “We are relying on input from the community to help determine where investments are needed, either in the form of renovation or new construction.”
“The first step in the process was to gather input from the community to understand what recreation and early childhood services they desire,” said MCDG Director Andrew Jensen. Over 700 individuals from the area participated in an online survey, and many other residents participated in a series of public input meetings. The planning team has also met with other stakeholder organizations including the schools, William Penn University and the Mahaska Recreation Foundation to talk the project.
“Indoor recreation and early childhood education & daycare services affect nearly every member of our community,” said Andrew Jensen, MCDG Executive Director. “The study will help us understand if the community supports building new recreation facilities, or if they think renovated facilities will best serve the community.”
The survey and study findings will be made available to the YMCA, Mahaska Community Recreation Foundation, William Penn University, and area schools and governments who offer facilities and programming. These stakeholder organizations will be able to use the information individually and in working together to meet community needs, according to Jensen. The reports will also be made available to the public.
The study includes three phases: 1) a recreation and early childhood needs assessment to gather public input; 2) a capital needs assessment of the existing YMCA facility; and 3) creation of a master plan using data from phases 1 & 2. The study will conclude in early July.
