Conservation talks building nature center/office facility

Adair County’s conservation department might be able to have a new office/nature center building sometime in the future.

Director Dominic Johnson showed rough plans and cost opinions to the board of supervisors last Wednesday during their meeting of building such a structure. They have talked about having a building like this before before and Johnson said they showed interest in seeing actual drawings and potential cost figures.

A nature center would not only provide the conservation department with a centralized home base of their own, it would provide a spot where school classes could come learn outside their own classroom or hunter education courses could be held. Johnson said the most fitting spot for a facility like this would the Ken Sidey Nature Area, adjacent to Nodaway Lake south of Greenfield.

Brush has already been cleared in a spot there that planners are looking at.

“We’ve talked about that we’ve done all these upgrades to the bathrooms and everything, and this is the next project we’re wanting to tackle,” Johnson said. “We’ve done a lot of thinking about where. Ken Sidey is our best option, as of right now. We like that because it’s centralized in the county and we could also have a shop there someday too.”

Johnson said right now, the conservation department’s shop is at Mormon Trail County Park east of Bridgewater. Having a shop near Greenfield would greatly reduce the amount of hauling of equipment the department has to do.

The nature center could include a foyer or waiting area, a director’s office, another couple of offices for a naturalist, the park rangers or a conference room, restrooms and a mechanical room. It would also have a large classroom that could hold up to 65 people. The drawing Johnson obtained is for a steel-sided building with a modern appearance.

Johnson presented two options to the board — one that is more plain and another that is a little fancier with an outdoor patio — but the difference in cost was minimal. One cost opinion also included a shop, and the supervisors questioned the price of the shop shown. Johnson said his experience has been that opinions are sometimes “scarier” than what something ends up costing, but it gives an idea. He also said utilizing local contractors could reduce the cost.

Johnson said there are aspects of the building site that make the grade work more simple, which could present a cost-saving opportunity.

In other action, the board:

• approved an actuarial services agreement with HUB International

• heard updates from County Engineer Nick Kauffman on a bridge repair proposal in Lee Township, approved widening design services for a project on P28, approved using tax increment financing dollars for a project on P48, awarded a contract for a bridge project in Lincoln Township and a farm-to-market pavement markings project