Northeast Iowa RC&D will welcome Postville residents to learn about current and future projects in Postville and take a look at their recent site work during an open house on Thursday, September 19th from 5:00 to 7:00pm. The site, across from city hall at 101 E. Greene St., is currently being transformed into a regional stormwater management best practices demonstration site. A public art piece will be installed this fall, and a permeable paving system will be complete by June 2020. RC&D will have information about the ongoing radon and lead testing project, redevelopment ideas for Postville. The Driftless Area Scenic Byway, which starts in Postville, and how Postville can take advantage of the route to attract more visitors and businesses will also be featured.
Free lead and radon tests will be available as well. In addition to the two-year program to distribute lead and radon tests to Postville households, RC&D recently received a donation of paint to give to households that want to cover damaged lead-based paint, and was awarded a grant by the Iowa Cancer Consortium to give $1,000 vouchers to households to install radon mitigation systems. “We’ve been doing a lot of work behind the scenes, it’s not always obvious,” said Nathan Thompson, Project Coordinator at RC&D. “We’re excited to share what we have been working on with the Postville community.”
There are a lot of positive changes underway in Postville, and many ideas for how to make it an even better place to live, work, and visit. RC&D has been working with community residents and leaders to develop ideas that could make Postville a better place for residents, visitors, and businesses. Some of these ideas are on display at OurPostville.com, where a summary of some of the most interesting facts and ideas that have come out of a multi-year planning process are on display. Postville residents who can’t make it to the open house are encouraged to visit the site and leave comments under the “Online Open House” tab. “We have heard from a lot of residents and businesses and leaders over the last few years, and we have come up with ideas for how we can best address some of our challenges and meet a vision for the future,” said Nathan Thomson, Northeast Iowa RC&D, who has been facilitating the process. “We have a lot of potential here in Postville- and all throughout northeast Iowa. It’s going to take more organization and work to achieve that vision, and this can be a starting point.”
Postville residents are invited to visit ourpostville.com to see ideas for redevelopment of downtown sites. A mockup “flythrough” of downtown was developed for show what Postville could look like if these projects were implemented, and rough drafts of elements and site plans are also available to view.
“This is part of a long process of figuring out how we can create the conditions for redevelopment and growth in Postville. There are some great ideas out there, and we have heard from a lot of folks about what they want Postville to look like in the future. We can build on our assets and come together to make some of these plans happen.
Previous community input has been collected through one-on-one and small group meetings, community open house events, visits with classrooms at Mott High School, and additional follow-up with local leaders.
“We are required to focus on physical redevelopment, and not the development of organizations or services, Thompson added. “But figuring out an organizational structure or framework to provide guidance and direction to these or future plans will be a critical element to getting things accomplished. Look at what PEPTO has accomplished in the last year or what the RAGBRAI committee was able to do on a short time frame. If we can establish a group to work on long-term projects, we can keep up that momentum and keep our community moving forward.”
Postville residents can see ideas for future redevelopment and amenities at ourpostville.com, and give their feedback on what they want to see happen or what they would prefer to see changed. A final plan will be completed and available for public view in 2020.