Kiwanis club donates $8,000 for animated holiday lights at Kingman’s Locomotive Park

The Kingman Powerhouse Kiwanis Club offered an $8,000 donation to the City of Kingman to pay for programmable holiday lighting and related equipment for the historic locomotive at Locomotive Park, council members heard Tuesday.

City Manager Tim Walsh introduced the project and said local volunteer Jeff Jarvis proposed a coordinated lights‑and‑audio display for the train. Walsh said the Kiwanis Club “jumped on it” and offered to cover the estimated $7,500 to $8,000 project cost. Jarvis played a short video for council showing animated lighting, moving wheels and color themes for different holidays.

Jarvis told the council the installation could run shows on weekends, change color themes for different holidays and be synchronized with low‑volume speakers in the locomotive’s conductor area or with FM/phone audio accessed via a QR code. Jarvis said the system would not play music continuously to avoid disrupting nearby residents.

Council action and next steps

City staff placed acceptance of the donation on the consent agenda. Staff recommended accepting the check and proceeding with purchase and installation; council returned later in the meeting and carried consent business that included notification of the donation. Jeff Jarvis and Kiwanis representatives were invited forward for a photo with the check.

Why it matters

The project is a privately funded, donor‑driven enhancement to a prominent downtown landmark intended to support events, photo opportunities and holiday programming without requiring city capital outlay beyond accepting the gift.