Mozingo Board sets sights on 2017 budget
Crews from Gehlhausen Construction of Fort Dodge, Iowa Tuesday put up walls on the new Boulders Inn & Suites hotel at Mozingo Lake Recreation Park. Mozingo staff has budgeted for the conference center construction to follow the same timeline as the hotel, with completion in the spring of 2017.
The Mozingo Lake Recreation Park Advisory Board met Monday night, spending much of the meeting discussing plans and goals for the 2017 fiscal year.
Assistant City Manager Ryan Heiland began the conversation with a highlight of projects that happened during fiscal year 2016. The key item of the fiscal year was the renewal of the operating sales tax for Mozingo, along with the approval of an additional sales tax to support the conference center development during the April election. Heiland also noted that a developer and operator for the hotel development, and site designs had also been secured as well as the beginning of the project construction.
Another major event, according to Heiland, has been the grand opening of the Watson 9 Golf Course and the implementation of the new Junior Golf program.
Much of the other projects Heiland highlighted included updates, upgrades, and maintenance on existing amenities including the implementation of a new website, complete with the reservation system for RV, cabin, and primitive camping sites.
Heiland concluded that Mozingo welcomed visitors from 27 states in 2016.
“It was a very successful year with a lot for our staff to be proud of,” he said of fiscal year 2016. “Just two years into our 20-year Mozingo Master Plan and we’ve completed nearly every level one priority item, and several of the level two and level three priorities.”
Heiland chalks up the success to the lake staff’s implementation of the citizen-approved master plan.
“It gives us a prioritized list of things to work through in both the budget-planning process, and throughout the fiscal year,” Heiland said.
As the discussion moved into what should be on the priority list for fiscal year 2017, items like the conference center, driving range, rip rap, welcome center and irrigation system upgrade were brought to the forefront.
“The conference center is obviously going to be a large part of what we do this upcoming fiscal year,” Heiland said. “And a lot of what we do throughout the rest of the park will be continued upgrades and improvements to what we already have.”
Heiland said much of the three-hour meeting was spent talking about prioritizing rip rap around the points of the lake that are facing heavy erosion problems, mainly on the west side of the lake.
“The board recommended that we throw as much of the budget for 2017 as possible at rip rap,” Heiland said. “The board said they would like to see $150,000 budgeted to it, but I’m not sure if that is feasible until we really get into the budget to see what is available.”
Heiland said that because of the west bank’s layout, much of the riprap would have to be delivered from the lake via barge.
“We’re going to look into estimates over the next few months from contractors to see if this project can even happen with a budget of even $150,000,” Heiland said. “Once we know the scope of what our budget would allow, we can move forward.”
The budget for the welcome center will most likely include the beginning materials for grading and foundation work so that Northwest Technical School students can begin construction in the fall of 2017. Heiland estimates those costs at $50,000 to $60,000.
Having already installed new irrigation throughout the Watson 9 and the first half of the Sechrest 18 golf course. The irrigation system in the remaining nine holes still needs to be upgraded.
Other items that made the priority list for fiscal year 2017 include a new mower, RV park upgrades, tent camping site upgrades, cabin maintenance and upgrades, programming, and playground equipment enhancements.
“This upcoming budget year is going to be what I consider a transition year,” Heiland said of 2017. “In the past we have completed a lot of major capital improvement projects, but there will be a number of important projects this year such as the conference center, welcome center, and riprap.”
Heiland said a preliminary budget proposal will be brought to the advisory board in August for recommendation to the city council for final approval sometime in September before the October 1 start date of fiscal year 2017.