Mt. Pleasant committee shares six proposals for improvement projects

MT. PLEASANT - After participating in the 2020 Community Visioning Program, the Mt. Pleasant Visioning Committee invited residents to discuss and give feedback on proposed community improvement projects on Thursday evening.

Dylan Jones and Carissa Shoemaker, members of a design team from Genus Landscape Architects who worked with the community's committee, gave a presentation at Temple Theatre.

The committee focused on six project areas: improving a pedestrian walkway through the downtown area, putting uniform signage at the North Broadway and Highway 34 entrances to the town, improving the existing trail system by including kiosks and trailheads and adding to the west downtown entrance to downtown.

The program, a collaborative effort between the Iowa Department of Transportation, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and Trees Forever, selects 10 small communities each year to participate.

Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance Executive Director Kristi Perry said following studies done to determine traffic patterns, there were no major issues, meaning many of the projects focused on more aesthetic aspects of the town.

Jones added many of the ideas would not only improve the aesthetics of the town but also define the brand and look of Mt. Pleasant.

Following a virtual meeting in June which introduced the community to initial ideas, an online survey asked community members to chime in on which projects they felt should take priority. Jones said 85 people responded to the survey, which found the pedestrian walkway was a top priority for the town. The project would include improving an alleyway on the north side of the downtown area by including art and more places to sit and enjoy the area.

Kadie Johnson, a member of the committee, said going through the process was both fun and informative.

'Even if I didn't have a clear idea, I could throw something out and be like, ‘I think we could do something with this area of town,' and we would work together to figure it out. I'm really excited to see what comes next,” Johnson said.

Many community members who showed up for the presentation were similarly excited about the potential projects.

Chamber ambassador Mark Hempen said 'all of the concepts and ideas are very good.”

'I love of course the alley project. I think the art and all the vivid colors really brings a unique opportunity to it,” Hempen said.

Mayor Steve Brimhall, who attended the presentation, said he was especially excited to see the improvements to the trail system. The city has been working on the system since 1990. With construction of Phase 6 of the system starting in August, by the end of the year, the city will have completed 10 miles of the trail.

'We're working on the trail right now, and this enhancement that they have to the trail looks really nice,” Brimhall said.

The mayor added going through the visioning process has been helpful in the past, which is why he felt it was great Mt. Pleasant was given another opportunity to look for ways to improve as a town.

'We use these results. Once a plan is decided on, this is what guides our plans for the next, maybe, 20 years,” he added.

With the conclusion of the visioning process, the next phase of the program will look toward making the projects a reality through grants and other funding.