Rock Rapids, Iowa — “The Conservation Education Center at Lake Pahoja is a go.” That from the staff of the Lyon County Conservation Board.
Conservation Board Supervisor Craig Van Otterloo reports that after seven years of planning and fundraising, the board and the Lyon County Board of Supervisors have agreed to get the project underway.
Van Otterloo tells us that bids for the project were let on December 9 with bids due by January 16, 2020. There were seven companies that bid the project with Peska Construction from Sioux Falls awarded the bid at $1,567,000.
Board officials tell us they have already contracted a “post and beam” style building from Legacy Post and Beam of Fremont, Nebraska. The structure will be 48’x120′ and two stories with a walkout basement. The total cost of the project is anticipated at $1,933,000. Of this total project cost, $1,525,000 has already been raised.
Van Otterloo tells us it’s not just office space though. He says their education end of things is growing by leaps and bounds and needs more space.
The anticipated construction starting date is April 1st with completion of the project coming in December of 2020. Van Otterloo says they hope to move in by next January or February with a grand opening scheduled for May of 2021.
