Two of Iola’s signature Riverside Park facilities — the Recreation Community Building and Iola Swimming Pool bathhouse — will be spruced up in the coming weeks.
Iola City Council members graciously accepted an offer from the Community Involvement Task Force to paint portions of the exteriors of both structures.
Donna Houser, speaking on behalf of CITF, said the focus will be on the art deco features of both buildings, particularly the trim.
Both were built in the 1930s through Works Progress Administration projects. Their existing singular color masks much of the art deco style, Houser said.
The trim around the rec building will be painted blue and burnt orange. The blue will match colors of the nearby football stadium trim; the orange to match the building’s interior wall color.
The pool’s deco trim will be painted two shades of blue, Houser said.
Houser said the next step is for CITF to raise funds for the paint. She estimated the project would cost at least $2,700.
In a related matter, council members approved a request from Iola High School After Prom Committee members to use the rec building overnight on April 21 and 22 for After-Prom activities.
FOR THE second time in as many meetings, the council debated how much the city should charge for certain fees.
Of particular interest to Councilman Ken Rowe was the city’s practice of charging $10 to retrieve copies of accident reports filed by Iola police officers.
Rowe said the fees run contrary to a city code that says public records should be provided free of charge if the report is “readily available to the record custodian,” and that a single, four-page accident report should be available for 80 cents, or 20 cents per page.
Rowe noted the Allen County Sheriff’s Department charges $3 to print off accident reports.
Rowe’s contention was countered by Iola City Administrator Carl Slaugh and City Attorney Chuck Apt, who said the fees are assessed to account for time involved for Iola Police Department staff to retrieve the reports and print them off.
“The city code as I see it is appropriate,” Slaugh said. “The fees that have been assessed by administrative policy are in accordance with the code. I would not propose a change to that unless the city council would require a change.”
Apt pointed to a provision in the city code that says inspection fees shall be charged in all cases not covered by the first portion of the city code.
