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Supervisors discuss decorating courthouse lawn ahead of Holiday Stroll

By Robert Maharry 8 min read

Despite one lighthearted accusation of a county employee sounding like The Grinch, the Marshall County Board of Supervisors engaged in a fruitful conversation with two members of the Holiday Stroll Committee about ideas for decorating the courthouse lawn for the upcoming event during Wednesday morning's regular biweekly meeting.

Marshalltown Central Business District Executive Director Deb Millizer and Holiday Stroll Promotions Chair Alushia Fitzgerald attended the meeting to pitch their ideas to the supervisors, and Millizer, who started in her current position in 2019, said she was excited to finally see the remodeled and renovated courthouse play a marquee role in the popular annual celebration.

"It was important to us to celebrate the holiday season -- lights, things like that -- I mean, I could talk all day about it. Those sorts of things, when the season comes around, are really important to quality of life, celebrating, making downtown a place to be, all of those sorts of things," Millizer said. "And we know that this year is the first year the fence has been down, and we are super excited about that."

She then asked if county officials had plans to decorate the courthouse area during the holiday season and if the large aluminum "tree" would be able to be placed somewhere on the courthouse lawn.

County Buildings and Grounds Director Lucas Baedke responded that there are no current decoration plans, and after Supervisor Carol Hibbs asked about which events would be happening around the courthouse square, Fitzgerald said the carriage ride would run all the way around it. Two food trucks -- Appleberry Farms and Dave's Mini Donuts -- will also be set up nearby.

Baedke then took over the microphone and shared some history, noting that the county had worked with the Holiday Stroll Committee and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) in the past on creating "some sort of lighted display" on the courthouse grounds. He wondered about the timeframe on how long the decorations would be up, and Millizer said the FOP had gotten rid of all of its lights but would like to have the tree lit up for the night of the Holiday Stroll (Nov. 18) and potentially through the end of the year.

"We would love for it to stay up until the end of the year if it was possible just because that's through the holiday season, it's beautiful, it's a point of entrance. There were tons of people that took pictures of it last year," Millizer said. "Even with the fence protecting it, there were a lot of photos, and it is part of the tradition with Santa Claus."

Baedke clarified that while he loved Christmas and loved decorating for it, he was more inclined to something shorter term because he didn't feel that it looked great during the day. Wind blowing the structure over, which did happen last year, was another worry.

"As always, my bigger concern is how do we impact the grounds long term? If there's something, we're looking at 20, 30 feet tall and we need larger equipment, now we're driving across the yard that should be seeded later this week, early next week, So there's concerns on the impact there," he said.

He hoped to hear a more concrete proposal on where the committee would like to place the tree and said he was less concerned about the timeframe. Millizer's only firm preference was that it be on the Main Street side of the building.

"We just wanna add something to the courthouse lawn, something that adds to the festivities, adds to the joy of the season," she said. "We're completely open about where the location is. We would just like it on the Main Street side somewhere towards the middle because that's where Santa Claus gets off... And it's beautiful to have the courthouse as the backdrop for that."

She referenced a recent market analysis survey that indicated the importance of placemaking, and even festival lighting was mentioned as a way to promote it.

Hibbs wondered if the tree could fit in the concrete area and whether it could be dressed up during the day, and Millizer said it would probably fit in the concrete area to avoid impacting the grass. She and Fitzgerald were less sure, however, of what to do with the tree during the day.

After Baedke commented on where the ideal power source hookups would be, Supervisor Steve Salasek joked that he "sounded like the Grinch" but acknowledged the validity of his concerns about the freshly planted grass and allowing for optimal soil compaction.

As a lifelong county resident, Salasek said the event has been a big deal to him since he was a child, and he hoped the board could find a way to make it happen. Board Chairman Jarret Heil seemed to also be onboard and cited the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. being lit up around the holiday season as an example of something Marshall County could aspire to.

Fitzgerald indicated a willingness to see if the FOP would be willing to partner and come up with ideas on decorating, and Millizer shared her hopes for a warm Holiday Stroll in 2023.

"I hope that as we move forward that we're able to really showcase our courthouse, and I know you want that too during the holidays," Millizer said. "And I know that you can't put the cart before the horse. There's other things that have to be taken care of, but we do appreciate your willingness to talk to us about this."

Heil then inquired about when the Main Street reconstruction project would occur and how it might affect future Holiday Strolls while the work is happening, and Millizer said she did not believe it would start before 2025. Without a formal motion, the board gave Millizer and Fitzgerald permission to connect Baedke with Jeremy Adkins, who handles the tree, and figure out a plan.

Based on her final quote of the morning, it was safe to assume Millizer was already very much in the holiday spirit.

"We obviously would love it if the courthouse was decorated. What you're doing now, we really appreciate, but we would love it if there was an option to put more on there," she said. "We've come through the tornado. We've all been kind of living in apathy for quite some time, and those little things are big things when they're collectively put together. They really do matter."

In other business, the board:

• Proclaimed October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Marshall County.

• Heard a program update from YSS of Marshall County Executive Director David Hicks, which included a question from Hibbs on whether the Marshalltown Police and Community Team (MPACT) program could potentially be expanded to include all of Marshall County.

• Approved the consent agenda as listed.

• Approved a status change for Sara Badger from Auditor/Recorder Assistant -- Vitals, DNR, Election, rate of pay $21.75 to Auditor/Recorder Assistant -- Real Estate Lead with a rate of pay of $23.75.

• Approved the hiring of precinct election officials for the upcoming city and school elections in November.

• Approved the hiring of Juana Oliveros Alcantar as a collections coordinator in the county attorney's office at a salary of $53,500.

• Approved a damage release agreement with Black Hills Energy for Canfield Avenue as the result of a pipeline project. County Engineer Paul Geilenfeldt estimated that it would cost $20,429.80 to grade the road back to where it needed to be, and he said Black Hills would cover that amount once the agreement was finalized.

• Approved a federal aid agreement for Bridge D16 on 140th Street about 2 ½ miles north of Clemons over Minerva Creek.

• Approved a 28E agreement between the Central Iowa Fair Board and the Marshall County Conservation Board regarding the use of the Administration Building at the fairgrounds. Conservation Director Emily Herring said the two entities have long worked together, but it had never been formal and in writing until now.

• Approved a courthouse change order in the amount of $28,681.63.

• Set the non-union floating holiday for July 5, 2024, and set Dec. 24, 2024 as a half day.

During the public forum, Baedke raised the issue of approximately 40 old chairs from the courthouse sitting in storage that he wasn't sure what to do with. He asked for guidance on what to do with them, mentioning an auction as a possibility, and Heil hoped to receive some public input. Fitzgerald suggested putting plaques, numbers, dates and where they were used if the county auctions them off to increase the value, and she also thought the Historical Society of Marshall County might be interested in them for the Binford House, the school house or the museum.

"I mean, we paid $38 for 24 of them. We're out a lot of money here," Baedke joked.

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

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