May 12 – Supervisors have ordered maintenance to find estimates of what it would cost to remove the concrete bunkers outside the Jasper County Courthouse, an initiative that has been discussed in recent years. The bunkers served as aesthetically pleasing markers in downtown Newton, but have proven challenging.
Maintenance crews often have difficulty navigating the bunkers to clear heavy snow. Previous attempts at concrete replacement projects proposed removing the bunkers, but the bids came in too high and put the projects on hold. But the province did reserve money for concrete work.
Jasper County Maintenance Director Adam Sparks said there was $40,000 in the fiscal year 2024 budget that was used for flatwork on the exterior of the courthouse. The county focused its efforts on concrete plazas that were raised, broken or had some other defect that could have caused an accident.
With an additional $40,000 set aside for concrete work in the fiscal year 2025 budget, Sparks needed to know if regulators wanted the bunkers removed. When carrying out the earthwork, maintenance ensured that people stayed away from squares that were close to or adjacent to the bunkers.
If it turned out that regulators wanted to remove the bunkers, crews would likely have had to dig up new concrete, which would have been a waste of money.
“We didn’t want to rip it out again and waste all that concrete,” Sparks said. “So I think the question is evolving…Are we going to keep the bunkers? Can the bunkers go? I need to know that so I can figure out how we’re going to spend this money and know what to tell people.” who bid on this project.”
The bunkers are located on the northwest, northeast, southwest and southeast corners of the city center square.
Sparks said he would first like to focus on the two sets of bunkers on the north side of the town square. The bunkers on the south side could be more difficult due to their proximity to U.S. Route 6, which Sparks suggested would require cooperation with the Iowa Department of Transportation.
He also knows the $40,000 budget for concrete work won’t cover all the bunkers at once. The north side bunkers are also equipped with drains. After speaking with city staff, Sparks determined that there is no set standard to follow, but there must be some type of drainage system.
Without the installation of the drainage system, Sparks estimates it would cost about $15,000 to remove just one set of bunkers. Depending on the price of adding a drainage system, the county could have enough room in the budget to remove both bunkers on the north side. Regulators were not opposed to removing them.
But they wanted to know how much it would cost.
When asked by regulators why the bunkers were installed in the first place, Sparks said it was a project spearheaded by a group that is either not as active or has disbanded completely. The bunkers were paid for by a group decades ago. Since then, other groups have resorted to other beautifying devices.
For example, Newton Main Street uses seasonal planters during the spring and summer months, and these can be removed before the winter months.
