Dallas County Extension Welcomes Costa Rican Guests

Courtesy of Dallas County ISU Extension Office

The Dallas County ISU Extension office hosted a group of 15 students and 2 professors from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) located in San José, Costa Rica.

The tour was part of an 11-year tradition of student exchanges between ISU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences with students from The Faculty of Agriculture at UCR.

Regional Extension Education Director Craig Hertel gave a presentation on the history of the ISU Extension and how it educational programs in counties throughout Iowa.

While in Dallas County the tour visited Turtle Farms, a certified organic Community Supported Agricultural farm near Granger and Penoach Winery of Adel.

Dallas County ISU Extension Office
28059 Fairground Road
Adel, IA 50003
Phone: (515) 993-4281
Fax: (515) 993-1027
xdallas@iastate.edu
www.extension.iastate.edu/dallas

July 28, 2010

Crews are two thirds of the way done laying brick on Court Street. Main Street Businesses all have front door access as of today.

July 27, 2010

Crews are working to lay the bricks on Court Street.

The bump-outs on Main are planned to be poured today. The sidewalk in front of Kinninck’s is planned for later this this afternoon or tomorrow.

Chad Bird – Brick Street Update (Jul 23, 2010)

Fellow Residents,

Lots of concrete being poured in the last few and next few days.

The sidewalks along the south side of the square (along the store fronts) are scheduled to be poured at 5:30am tomorrow (Saturday).

If you don’t really have anything better to do, it might be fun to come out and watch them work.

The crosswalk area along Hwy 169 and Court Street was poured today along with some curb sections along the North side of Court St.

The brick subcontractor is scheduled to be on site first thing Monday morning – this is when the excitement really begins, the brick go back down.

For all you trivia buffs out there… any guesses as to how many brick will be put back into the new streets? We have the official count from the engineers and if you guess it or can find the correct number you’ll win a free commemorative Adel Street Brick.

Please note that the brick contractor will start on Court Street and then will more than likely jump to Main Street to finish that street before Court is done. All has to do with staging and congestion with so many contractors on site at once.

The City has worked out a special arrangement with the Dallas County Farm Bureau to allow public parking in their lot, south of the office, for the duration of the street project. Their lot will be available for free public parking beginning Monday. Signs will go up on Monday designating the lot as public parking. There will be five spaces in the back of the lot reserved for their employees and signs will be posted to that effect.

Also, regarding sidewalks, please note that the contractor has decided to NOT proceed with the sidewalk removal and installation on any part of Main Street west of 9th until after the Sweetcorn Festival. Due to unpredictable weather, they do not want to risk not having that section done for the Festival. Look for that work to commence right after the Festival.

As always – Thank you for all your patience during this project.

Please note the following:

This website will allow residents and business owners a forum to ask questions, research schedules through an interactive calendar, and view photos of the project’s progress. www.2010brickstreets.blogspot.com

In addition to the above link, the local online magazine, Discover Adel is providing a daily project update with photos and schedule information. You may visit their link as well. www.discoveradel.com/brick-street-updates

Thanks again for your understanding and cooperation – please contact me for questions and comments.

Chad

Chad A. Bird
City Administrator
City of Adel
515-993-4525
Fax 515-993-4527

July 23, 2010

Despite early morning rains, the crews are busy getting Main St. ready for sidewalks to be poured Saturday.

Hopefully front door access to the businesses affected by the sidewalk delay will be open Monday. The affected businesses are still open during the construction, access information can be found here.

Welcome to the Community!

July 22, 2010

Crews are working steadily to fill the coal chutes on Main Street. Front door access to those businesses are currently closed. Click here to view alternative access information for the affected businesses.

A reminder that there will be a Public Brick Street Project update meeting this evening at the Adel City Hall. The meeting will begin at 6:00pm. Please bring any questions or concerns you have about the project.

If you are unable to attend the meeting please contact Chad Bird at 515-993-4525 for questions or concerns.

Reminder: Brick Street Meeting Tonight

Set your alarms for 6pm tonight and meet us at City Hall for the public informational meeting regarding the Brick Street project.

This is a great opportunity to sit down with fellow residents, business owners, and city officials to discuss the ever-changing downtown Adel landscape.

Do you have questions about the repairs? How the upcoming Sweetcorn Festival will be effected? Then join us tonight, July 22nd at 6pm!

Chad A. Bird
City Administrator
City of Adel
515-993-4525
cbird@adeliowa.org

July 21, 2010

Crews are pouring sidewalk in front of the businesses along Main street. They are also in the progress of filling coal chutes with cement along that road.

It appears that the entire street is without front door access. Click here to find alternative access information to the affected businesses.

July 20, 2010

In spite of the rain Monday and this morning, the crews have been busy today, pouring cement on Court St. for the parking.

They’ve also started the sidewalk replacement on Main Street. The affected businesses’ are; Iowa Title, Anytime Fitness, Russell Slater Insurance, Russell Abstract, and Jennings Law Office. The crews are working into the evening to get the sections done as quickly as possible and to minimize access issues for those businesses.

Update From Chad Bird On Brick Street Repair

Chad Bird, Adel’s City Administrator, has published a letter to the community outlining progress of the street repairs and upcoming changes.

You may read the full article by visiting the Brick Street Updates.

Brick Street Update – July 17th, 2010

Business leaders and residents,

The street project is coming along at a rapid pace now. After speaking with the contractors and engineers this morning it appears that Main Street will be ready for hand work and crosswalks by early in the week. Court Street will follow right behind.

It is anticipated that the parking areas on Court Street will be poured beginning Monday – weather permitting.

Also on Monday, sidewalk removal work will begin on the west end of Main Street (south side) and progress eastward. It is anticipated that the contractors will look to do no more than half the block first and complete that work before moving on to the eastern half of the sidewalks.

This is the critical stage we have all been anticipating – please, if you have concerns about access to your business/building now is the time to engage in the discussions. We have a progress meeting scheduled for Tuesday, July 20th at 1:00pm. If you have any questions, concerns or comments I urge you to call me, the engineers, or plan on attending the meeting. The meetings are held in the Dallas County Board of Supervisor’s conference room; 121 North 9th Street.

I believe the sub-contractors are looking to begin lying the brick back down by the end of this next week.

Regarding Main Street, west of 9th. I believe the plan is to remove and replace the North sidewalk and curb sections in the next couple of weeks and have that section completed before the Sweetcorn Festival. The south side of Main Street, west of 9th is planned for removal and replacement until after the Festival. Again, if you have questions about this schedule, please let me know.

Finally, there is an update meeting scheduled for Thursday, July 22 at 6:00pm at City Hall – I hope to see you there.

Thank you for all your patience during this project.

Please note the following:

This website will allow residents and business owners a forum to ask questions, research schedules through an interactive calendar, and view photos of the project’s progress. www.2010brickstreets.blogspot.com

In addition to the above link, the local online magazine, Discover Adel is providing a daily project update with photos and schedule information. You may visit their link as well. www.discoveradel.com

Thanks again for your understanding and cooperation – please contact me for questions and comments.

Chad

Chad A. Bird
City Administrator
City of Adel
515-993-4525
Fax 515-993-4527

Embracing our History,
Celebrating our Future!

Rob Burditt Recognized For Governor’s Volunteer Award

27th Annual Governor’s Volunteer Award Presented • Rob Burditt Recognized

Rob Burditt of Adel, Iowa received a Governor’s Volunteer Award during a special recognition ceremony held July 16th in Ankeny.

The Governor’s Volunteer Awards (GVA) program was created in 1982, with inaugural awards presented in 1983. The program has grown from a small program only available to state agencies to its present function of providing all Iowa nonprofit, charitable, and government organizations with an easy and effective way to honor their volunteers with a prestigious state-level recognition award.

Volunteers may be nominated for an award in one of several categories: Individual, Group, Length of Service, or Disaster Volunteer. Nearly 800 volunteers were selected for awards in 2010.

Rob Burditt was honored with an Individual Volunteer Award by the City of Adel.

“The devotion of these volunteers has helped Iowa achieve the second highest state volunteer rate in the country,” said Governor Culver. “Lt. Governor Judge, the First Lady, and I are honored to have this opportunity to personally thank this year’s award recipients for donating their time, dedication, and talent to make a tremendous difference in our state.”

The most recent “Volunteering in America” study, released June 15, details the millions of hours that volunteers in Iowa collectively contribute. The estimated annual economic impact of that service is well over $1 billion. The entire report can be viewed at www.volunteeringinamerica.gov.

The Governor’s Volunteer Award program is coordinated by the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service and the Governor’s Office. For more information, visit www.volunteeriowa.org or call 515.725.3094.

A complete list of 2010 award recipients are available at www.volunteeriowa.org/awards.

For more information, contact:
Jody Benz, Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service, 515.725.3094

July 16th, 2010

It’s been a busy week for the street crews. The center lanes were poured on both Court and Main. The parking has been graveled and the curb and gutter has been poured on Main.

Today the crews are removing the old cement next to the highway in preparation of starting on the sidewalks along Main Street. The sidewalk construction will incorporate bridges so that customers can still visit their favorite downtown businesses.

DiscoverAdel will have daily information on the business affected and their alternate access points during the sidewalk stage.

July 15th, 2010

Crews are side drilling in the cement today in preparation of pouring the parking along the streets.

Raccoon River Valley Trail

It’s a beautiful day in Adel to take a bike ride!

The Raccoon River Valley Trail features miles of natural beauty. Make sure you read the Rules of the Road for Bike Riders beforehand.

Interpretive signs along the scenic trail educate users about historic sites as Ortonville, once home to a traveling circus.

Want to read more about the trail? Read our March 2010 newsletter article! In it, we interview the Raccoon River Valley Trail Association board members Chuck and Carla Offenburger.

Raccoon River Valley Trail Association
402 Main Street – Suite 1
Cooper, IA 50009
515-386-5488

July 14th, 2010- Updated

The crews are trimming the rock in the parking on Main today. Once trimmed, the cement for the parking can be laid, weather permitting.

This Just In…
Courtesy of Chad Bird, City Administrator
Crews are ready to begin pouring the concrete for the curbs over the next few days. The parking areas are to follow.

The contractor will be ready to start on the sidewalks by the middle of next week.

The contractor has indicated they will work on sidewalks in front of approximately four businesses at a time, moving from one end of the street to the other.

If you have any questions regarding these new developments, please contact Chad.

Chad Bird
City Administrator
City of Adel
515-993-4525
cbird@adeliowa.org

Local Artist Showcases Work

While in town visiting the Adel Sweet Corn Festival Saturday August 14th, stop by 1306 Court Street.

A local Adel artist will be demonstrating his skills and selling original Fantasy and Sci-Fi paintings.

Pick up one of a kind, original artwork for your home, office, and more!

July 13th, 2010

Crews on Court St. poured cement Monday for the foundation that the bricks will rest on.