T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY At its September meeting, the Marshall County Conservation Board accepted a $623,000 bid from Hay Construction to build a showerhouse at the Timmons Grove Campground along the Iowa River south of Albion. Conservation Director Mike Stegmann expects construction to start in the spring.

Improving Marshall County’s public parks is always a top priority for Conservation Director Mike Stegmann, so when the opportunity arose to add a showerhouse facility at the Timmons Grove campground south of Albion along the Iowa River, he jumped at it.

This will be the first major addition at Timmons Grove since about seven or eight years ago, when the Marshall County Conservation Board (MCCB) upgraded the electrical system, had rural water installed and upgraded the restroom facilities.

“Since that time, we’ve been trying to formulate a plan on how to make further improvements and increase the usage (to) make it more of an attractive campground for users,” Stegmann said.

From there, the conservation team began polling campground users about what they would like to see in the future, and the showerhouse facility was a recurring answer. The idea has been ruminating for at least five years, and the MCCB worked with an out-of-state company called Huffcutt and local engineering firm Clapsaddle-Garber Associates to formulate designs and estimated costs.

A combination of insurance money from derecho damage, private fundraising, several major grants and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money from the board of supervisors finally propelled the MCCB to a position where Stegmann felt comfortable putting the project out to bid. At the board’s September meeting, a bid from Hay Construction of Marshalltown was accepted in the amount of $623,000.

Construction is slated to start in the spring, and Stegmann is happy to be moving forward with the improvements especially as high material costs and supply chain issues have put other projects on hold. Tentatively, he hopes the showerhouse will be finished and ready to use by late summer or early fall of 2023.

Along with the showerhouse, the project also includes the addition of two handicap-accessible campsites. Currently, there are 18 sites at Timmons Grove with electrical hookups, and Stegmann said enough space is available to potentially add 12 more.

Whether visitors are checking out Timmons Grove for the first time or are dedicated repeat customers, Stegmann is hopeful they’ll find something that will keep them coming back.

“It’s an attractive site to start with. We’ve got hiking trails throughout the park area, and this is all on the south side of the river. Timmons Grove is divided in half by the Iowa River, and the north side is a wildlife management area for public hunting,” Stegmann said. “The south side is a campground with hiking trails and of course a boat ramp to the Iowa River. So it’s been a very popular and recognized access point to the river in Marshall County for canoers from local to visitors. So it’ll just be that additional amenity that’ll help attract campers from not only out of county but from within the county… It’s kind of that ‘staycation’ attitude.”

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.