Breanna and Tyler Sawyer introduced themselves as representatives of Le Grand Parks and Recreation group — which Breanna said is comprised of young people who grew up in the community, love it and want the best for their children — and the nonprofit Celebrate Le Grand. Their goal is to overhaul and improve the current park on the north side of town while converting a sand volleyball court into a pickleball court, and the total estimated cost is around $240,000.

“What we’re going to do is we’re going to keep this footprint, and where the larger playground is, we would just be extracting both of those playgrounds and then replacing it with new equipment, and then obviously taking out that sand volleyball court and putting in a pickleball court,” Brianna said.

The goal is to create an inclusive facility accessible for individuals of all ages and ability levels. So far, she added, they have seen a positive response to the plan locally with over $5,000 in private donations thus far, but she did note the financial constraints in a relatively small community (894 population estimate as of 2023) with nearly half of the residents below the federal poverty line.

“We just want what’s best for our community, and this equipment is over 25 years old. And we lost a slide last year. It can no longer be replaced. We’re just a passionate group that loves our city,” Breanna said.

CONTRIBUTED GRAPHICS Renderings show the proposed improvements at the public park on the north side of town, which already includes a shelter house and the community center/public library.

Tyler Sawyer, who his wife described as “the finance guy,” then took over and laid out the costs: $90,000 for the new playground equipment, $35,000 for its installation, $33,000 for rubber mulch surfacing, $50,000 for the pickleball court, $1,500 to remove the current equipment and a 15 percent contingency for additional items like benches and trees, bringing the total estimate to around $240,000. To get there, Tyler said the city of Le Grand has already committed $125,000 — $100,000 from the general fund and $25,000 in Local Option Sales Tax dollars — and fundraising events have been held over the last few years with the proceeds going into the Parks and Recreation general fund. Another $40,000 from the Parks and Rec checking and savings accounts will go toward the project, bringing the total city commitment to around $165,000.

To raise the remainder of the money, the committee is also applying for grants through the state’s Community Attraction and Tourism (CAT) program while continuing to ask for support from other residents and businesses along with the county government. The Sawyers were then joined by Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development Director Kate Bowermaster, who thanked the supervisors for their collaboration on an economic development contract with the Chamber and said it allowed them to “dive in” to projects like this one.

The county committing funding, Bowermaster explained, would give the committee a better chance at receiving the CAT grant, which is awarded based on proof of widespread support and a preliminary funding threshold of 65 percent already being raised. On behalf of the Chamber, she requested $24,000, a 10 percent match for the fundraising efforts.

“They need that money from the county in order to get the funds that they’ve requested for the CAT grant,” she said. “We appreciate your consideration as this is a very important request, and quality of life for our rural communities is very important.”

Supervisor Carol Hibbs asked about the status of the CAT grant, and Tyler Sawyer said the application was completed but hadn’t been submitted yet. Board Chairman Jarret Heil then asked how much the county had left in its economic development budget for the current fiscal year and said he would be happy to support the project if the funds were available.

“It’s good to see that we’re having some big dream ideas coming out of our small communities and our county,” Heil said.

Supervisor Steve Salasek, who will be retiring from his seat at the end of the year, joked that if the board “cared anything about him at all,” they should support the project. Hibbs also wondered about the park receiving less than the full requested amount and if the county would subsequently contribute less, as well as if any aspects would potentially be removed from the plans as a result. Tyler Sawyer said the pickleball court could potentially be pushed back to a Phase II, but they intend to get the park upgrades completed in 2025.

He added, however, that the pickleball players have been some of their most vocal supporters thus far. Maria Vargas Gonzalez of the Auditor/Recorder’s Office was able to crunch the numbers and determine that the county has at least $40,000 uncommitted in the economic development fund, and after that was settled, Salasek motioned to approve the request for $24,000 in funding. Hibbs asked again if the amount the county contributes would change based on the award amount, and they eventually agreed on keeping it at $24,000 no matter what.

The original motion passed by a unanimous 3-0 tally.

“We can’t thank you guys enough. We really needed this support, especially for the CAT grant, and your support means a lot to us. Thank you,” Tyler Sawyer said.

“Thank you for your professionalism and hard work on this to make this a success, and the people of Le Grand definitely owe a debt of gratitude to you and your committee for all the work you’ve put into it. If you don’t have that, you can’t make it happen, so that’s awesome for our local communities,” Heil replied. “We appreciate it.”

In other business, the board:

• Approved the consent agenda as listed, including status changes and pay increases for assistant county attorneys Morgan Smith and Kaelee Keesee.

• Approved setting the January 2025 annual organization meeting for Jan. 2 instead of Jan. 1.

• Approved the completion of the tenant estoppel certificate for the Marshalltown Mall in the event that it sells to new owners. The New York-based Kohan Retail Investment Group is again behind on its property tax payments, according to Hibbs and Heil.

• Approved federal aid agreements for County Highway Bridge Program Projects H-01 and H-02 as well as the purchase of a permanent easement from 5D Farms to accommodate the projects.

• Approved a resolution revising the 2025 Five Year Secondary Roads Program to include the two aforementioned projects and the paving of bike trail intersections at 233rd Street.

• Approved the abatement of real estate and mobile home taxes for a total of five properties in Marshalltown.