T-R File photo The first step toward creating a new vision for Riverview park was taken Monday when the Marshalltown city council approved using $29,500 in council-designate Local Option Sales Tax toward revitalizing the park.

Marshalltown Parks and Recreation Director Geoff Hubbard wants to know what people want to see in Riverview Park.

The city had a tentative plan for updates to the park just a couple years ago. This included work on the log cabin pencilled in for 2023, replacing playground equipment by Reunion Hall in 2024 and work on the shelter.

Then the derecho damaged more than 400 trees. The downed or damaged trees covered by FEMA have been removed. Holes have been filled. Yet many stumps remain which may take several years to remove.

The disc golf course is one of the amenities most affected by the loss of trees. Hubbard said he has heard from many players saying the course is too easy now.

“A lot of things we had planned two years ago are different or changed,” Hubbard said. “We have a clean slate with what Riverview Park looks like now. Maybe we need to reconfigure what we actually want the park to look like.”

The first step toward creating a new vision for the park was taken Monday when City Administrator Jessica Kinser asked the Marshalltown City Council to support contracting engineering firm Bolton and Menk to develop concepts for the park. The council approved using $29,500 in council-designate Local Option Sales Tax toward the work.

Hubbard expects the process to move quickly in order to bring the plans to the council for a vote before the budgeting process early in 2022.

“Probably the last weeks of September or first part of October is when we will hold our first community engagement meetings,” Hubbard said.

The department is working on a web page to get feedback and ideas from the public which is expected to launch soon. It will include park history and a survey link. There people can comment on their favorite memories of Riverview Park and what they would like to see brought to it.

Parks and Rec is considering handing out aerial maps of the park for people to mark up with their ideas and turn in for consideration.

The process of taking in community feedback will be familiar to most in Marshalltown. The city did something similar for its Downtown Improvement Plan, with public surveys and a virtual open house with Bolton and Menk.

“Some of the things we’ve talked about have changed from the original plan. There could be other great ideas out there,” Hubbard said. “With the Edgewood Extension touching the south side of the park, there is talk of a retention pond. Can it be something more where we have a dock or something where we can launch paddleboards or canoes?”

Bringing back a ramp to the Iowa River is another idea Hubbard mentioned, as well as redoing the campground.

Recent events like the Marshalltown Metal Militia and Midwest Paranormal Festival have Hubbard wondering about a permanent stage area similar to the one on West End Park.

“We would obviously need power in that location,” he said. “Then we wouldn’t need to bring in the mobile stage like before.”

The significance of Riverview Park isn’t lost on Hubbard. That’s why he is focused on keeping it up to standard as the crown jewel of Marshalltown’s parks.

“It’s the largest park and has all the different amenities in it. The campground, three shelter buildings, the dog park, disc golf course — it’s a one-stop shop,” he said. “You go down there on any weekend and there could be 500 people down there.

The derecho took its toll on what Kinser and Hubbard called the most important park in Marshalltown. But Hubbard is optimistic about the opportunity to make Riverview Park better than ever.

“We have a clean slate to do anything we want right now,” he said. “The sky is the limit. With other amenities like a usable pond or other things I could definitely see some increases of use down there.”

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Contact Joe Fisher at

news@timesrepublican.com.