Fairfield redesignated Iowa Great Place

FAIRFIELD - The city of Fairfield has been re-designated as one of Iowa's Great Place.

The city received notice from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs that Fairfield has been re-designated as one of Iowa's Great Places last week. Communities seek designation as an Iowa Great Place as method to draw in tourism, and a vehicle to apply for grants that support new and existing infrastructure that cultivate unique and authentic qualities in their community. The state now recognizes 40 Iowa Great Places communities, of which seventeen were re-designations.

In the application for re-designation, Fairfield Mayor Ed Malloy stated that, 'Fairfield is committed to building on the great vision we put forward in 2006 when we received our first Great Places Designation. We will continue blending our rich traditions of a small town that enjoys big city amenities and opportunities. Fairfield's downtown will be the center of a universe of attractions that will define our next decade as a community that is thriving and redefining rural America… While many of our notable accomplishments have been achieved broadly throughout the community, our current intention is to narrow our focus to the downtown area known as the Central District.”

The original Fairfield Great Places application team included the city of Fairfield, Fairfield Chamber of Commerce, Fairfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, Fairfield Arts & Convention Center, Fairfield Art Association, Jefferson County Trails Council, Fairfield 1st Fridays Art Walk, Fairfield Economic Development Association, Fairfield Cultural Alliance, Go Green Commission, Sustainable Living Coalition, Historic Preservation Commission and Jefferson County Wellness Coalition.

Since that time, each of these representatives has worked collectively and independently to achieve the vision of the department of cultural affairs. Many other projects and organizations also became a part of our community building efforts. Collectively, each organization involved in the first designation has worked over the past 13 years to add more and more layers of projects and achievements that strengthen the livability and attractiveness of the community. Accomplishments have included the completion of the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center, the 16-mile Jefferson County Loop Trail, the renovation of the historic Massdam Barns, the downtown streetscape and façade restoration.

During that same period, Fairfield also added a new outdoor skate park, an outdoor swimming pool and an indoor recreation center with $6 million in private investment.

'Although these projects were outside of stated goals, the need and momentum of community improvement carried us to add these wonderful amenities,” noted a news release from the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce. 'The added amenities in our community increased tourism and population growth. Public/private partnerships have been successful because of the strong community commitment to living up to our Iowa Great Place status.”

Earlier this year, the City convened a committee to begin the re-designation application. The committee included:

Ed Malloy – Mayor of Fairfield

Rustin Lippincott – Fairfield Convention & Visitors Bureau

Darien Sloat - Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce

Marla Brader – Fairfield First Fridays

Stephen Pedrick – Jefferson County Trails Commission

Melanie Carlson – Fairfield City Engineer

Aaron Kooiker – Fairfield City Administrator

Josh Laraby – Fairfield Economic Development Association

Terry Baker – Fairfield Convention & Visitors Bureau

In the current re-designation, the plan focuses on the downtown and surrounding blocks, also known as the central district.

Priorities include:

' Wayfinding signage improvements

' More façade improvements

' Alley murals and lighting

' Sidewalk and parking improvements

' Public art projects

While the 2006 designation automatically resulted in grants which were used for downtown streetscape improvements, the process has changed for 2019. Communities applying or re-applying for designation must first be designated as a Great Place.

The second step is applying for grants which can be used over the course of the next three years. Grants must be matched by other funding. Next steps for the Fairfield Great Place Committee will be to pre-apply for grants by Aug 1. Pre-applications will be reviewed at the state level and on Aug. 8, pre-applications meeting basic criteria will be invited to submit full grant applications by Nov. 1. Applicants will be notified of funding decisions by Dec. 20, and grants must be used by Dec. 31, 2022.