News : Vinton Parks and Recreation shares exciting plans for Vinton

Vinton Parks and Recreation director Matt Boggess spoke with the Vinton Kiwanis Club at their Tuesday meeting last week. Boggess shared several of the projects that are happening through the department. 

As part of the Iowa's Living Roadways Community Envisioning Program and Trees Forever, Vinton was presented with several ideas to beautify Vinton. Scott Wirth has been taking the lead on this project. Downtown Vinton now has flower pots and banners hanging on some of the street lights. 

Wirth explained that there will be several variations of banners running throughout the year. The ones that are up now are yellow and blue, a sort of "brand" flag for Vinton that welcomes visitors to Vinton. There will be patriotic banners during the summer and personalized Veteran banners that can be ordered through the Rec Center to honor a Veteran. 

The Garden Club partnered with VPRD and made a donation to purchase 60 flower pots that will hold petunias. Boggess explained that the flowers will come in a liner that will be set into the pot, and Parks and Recreation will be taking care of the watering of the flowers. 

As summer will soon arrive, training is underway for several of the summer workers. The department has hired 28 lifeguards, 12 swimming instructors and 11 park workers on staff for the summer. 

Boggess also shared a vision the community has had for decades. He said that when he first arrived in Vinton about 10 years ago, a group met in the basement of Farmers Bank and shared all kinds of ideas for future recreation ideas for Vinton. One of the goals of every director for the last 30 years has been a facility, Bogges shared. He said at the time they met, the group imagined everything that a building could possibly hold and what everyone would like to see. He said, "It probably would have cost $75 million!" which brought a chuckle.

The plan that the department is considering is much smaller. Boggess wants to take everything in the city's current facilities and make it larger. The plans will take some of the pressure off of the school gyms, which are in constant use. Teams practice for all kinds of events, often into the evening at the schools. He feels that another facility would add more space to accommodate everyone as well as boost the economy through tournaments and events. He shared the cost per head of people attending tournaments can be as much as $7-8 per person who enters the facility. He sees this as a potential ongoing revenue stream for the project.

With Vinton's thriving pickleball community in town, he hopes to be able to provide some much-needed space for the sport. There is one indoor pickleball venue about 80 miles away so this would draw folks into town just for this.

Plans are still underway, and Boggess and the VPRD Board is in the designing process now. They will finalize the vision and put it out for bid. Then the work of fundraising will begin. Boggess has had experience in fundraising, and has some ideas for bringing in the needed donations. The money for this project is expected to be raised by donations rather than a bond aka a loan process by the city.

He's confident that the money for the project can be raised through private donations so that there won't be any tax burden on the residents of Vinton. He said the only expense might be in the operation of the facility, but he is hopeful that even this can be covered by donations. The benefits of this type of facility are multifaceted. The idea is to draw people to the community through the facility which in turn will also bring business to the town especially restaurants and the downtown shops.  

Boggess explained that the last time the department floated this idea, COVID hit which threw the plans out the window for a time. Of course, the project would have been cheaper then, but he's confident it can be done now. 

The new facility would be built on the Obermueller Field off of 13th St. in the Kiwanis Park and to move that field over next to the Mark Miner Field and have a complex there for the younger children. There are plans to add a walking trail around the area, and to add green space and possibly a manmade pond where there isn't much traffic. 

The metal building would house two full-sized basketball courts, 3-4 pickleball courts, and a walking track. They are also plotting out roughly 200 parking spaces around the building. Boggess said he is also cognisant of the need to not have it too large to maintain, but large enough to accommodate more activities in the area and draw people to Vinton.

One of the older members asked what the timeline would be for construction and if he'd still be around to see it. Boggess teased that if there would be a large check given to him it would speed things up. On a serious note, he explained that the department has a half a million in the bank right now. This could be used for matching gifts, grants and other fundraising ideas. He hopes to have fundraising in full swing this fall. The goal, he believes, could be around $3.5-4 million, but he's not sure. 

There are plans for a membership, but there is also scholarships available for those in need. He said there is also the idea of a creating a 501C3 for a "friends of" type group to help fund programs.

Thanks to our Vinton Parks and Recreation for all of their hard work and vision for the community, stay tuned for exciting updates!