Villa Park officials invite residents to March 7 meeting on Iowa Community Center renovation and Fire Station 82 reuse

Village Manager Mike Rivas invited residents to a public meeting on Saturday, March 7, at 9 a.m. to discuss renovation plans for the old Iowa Community Center and potential future uses for the nearby Fire Station 82. "Please come out and see us on Saturday," Rivas said.

Deputy Chief Brandon Mazuca of the Villa Park Fire Department said firefighters will present their vision for the old community center and welcome public input. "We would love to invite you out to coffee with the board on Saturday, March 7, to talk about our renovation plans for the old Iowa Community Center and why it's so important to the firefighters of station 82," Mazuca said. He said the discussion will also include options for the old Fire Station 82, including whether it should become a park or a village building, adding that "it's all up to the public."

The meeting is framed as an opportunity for residents to share preferences and concerns about the sites and for staff to gather public feedback. Rivas urged turnout and said one of the village's goals for the session is high participation: "one of the hopes in having this meeting is that we can listen to what the public views moving forward," and he joked the village hopes to "run out of coffee donuts" because of strong interest. He invited attendees to bring additional concerns so village staff can address them at the meeting.

The announcement did not include formal proposals, timelines, cost estimates or vote items; officials described the session as informational and oriented to public input. The village has not specified an agenda beyond presentations and community feedback. The meeting location was described as "here" during the announcement; residents seeking exact location or an agenda should contact the Village of Villa Park for details.

Rivas and Mazuca closed by thanking listeners and reiterating the invitation to participate on March 7.