Fairfield moving ahead with new shelter, bathrooms at city parks

FAIRFIELD – Progress is being made on new buildings that are planned for Waterworks Park and Chautauqua Park in Fairfield.

Fairfield Public Works and City Engineer Melanie Carlson announced this month that the park and rec board has approved building a new shelter at Waterworks, and a new structure at Chautauqua that would include bathrooms and space for the parks department.

These two new buildings are being funded in part by funds from the Edd and Darlene Felgar estate. The Felgars earmarked money for many projects in Fairfield, such as $250,000 toward the Greater Jefferson County Foundation with the purpose of building a new dirt track at the fairgrounds. The Felgars also felt strongly about improving the quality of the city’s parks, and thus set aside money for bathrooms at Waterworks and Chautauqua Park.

“In working with the park and rec foundation as well as his estate manager, we told them that bathrooms don’t cost that much, so we pitched this idea of a shelter and bathroom combo that fits within the funds that [the Felgars] had designated,” Carlson said.

Carlson said the park and rec board has been discussing the best place for the shelter at Waterworks, which will include bathrooms, lights, a kitchenette with a sink and countertop space, and a roof over 12 picnic tables. It will have a roll-up cafeteria window, perfect for hosting graduation parties or other events. After considering several options, the board decided the best place for such a building would be between the volleyball court and Bonnifield cabin on the west side of the park.

“It’s a good location for cross-country, and it’s not too far from the beach,” Carlson said. “We looked at five sites in Waterworks and listed the pros and cons of each, and after reviewing those, the park and rec board decided on that one. We got input from the people who use the beach, and we talked to the school district about how some locations would have affected the cross-country course.”

Carlson said the shelter at Waterworks will be a metal building, but with imitation stone and some exposed fake wood so it fits in with the Bonnifield cabin nearby.

At Chautauqua Park, the new bathrooms will be located north and west of the park offices on the southwest corner of the park, where the horse shoe pits are. Carlson said this will likely mean having to reroute at least one of the disc golf holes. The new bathrooms will be part of a larger structure that will include a city shed, since the city’s buildings at the park are old.

“Chautauqua Park will have five individual bathrooms open to the public all four seasons,” Carlson said. “It will have a locker room for staff, too, since they’re out mowing in the poison ivy, they need a place to get cleaned up before getting on with the rest of their day. We also need space to store equipment and trucks.”

Carlson said that, without the Felgars’ generous donation, the city would not be able to do these projects. She said the Waterworks and Chautauqua projects will be bid as part of a single package, so that one contractor is in charge of both. Construction on both should begin next year, and Carlson hopes both will be ready to use by next summer.

In other parks news, the city tore down the Partners for Play playground at O.B. Nelson in mid-November. The council has approved replacing that equipment with a metal and plastic playground, which will continue the castle theme. Carlson hopes the new equipment will be ready to use by next summer.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com