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Winterset seeks county backing for $20 million Field House, asks supervisors for $10,000–$50,000 pledge
Summary
City of Winterset presenters told the Madison County Board of Supervisors the proposed $20 million Winterset Field House would be funded mostly with $16 million in urban renewal/TIF dollars and asked the board to consider a $10,000–$50,000 support pledge over five years to leverage state grants; presenters said the business plan targets 100% cost recovery.
Sky Smothers, Winterset parks director, and city administrator Drew Barton presented a proposal for a $20,000,000 Winterset Field House and asked the Madison County Board of Supervisors to consider a modest county contribution to help the project leverage state grants.
"The Winterset Field House is a $20,000,000 project in which the city has allocated $16,000,000 of URA funds to assist in construction," the presentation said. The city plans a capital campaign to raise the remaining $4,000,000 and describes a facility that would include a 5,000-square-foot space to house part of the local police department alongside amenities such as a weight room, rock wall, indoor playground and multiuse LED courts.
Smothers and Barton emphasized that the field house’s financial model was built conservatively. "The plan indicated that based on conservative revenues and higher than anticipated expenses, the facility would get a minimum of a 100% cost recovery," the presenters said, and showed a sensitivity analysis used to test different attendance and revenue scenarios.
Asked how much the county’s board might be asked to contribute, Smothers said the city hopes county support would "somewhere be between that 10,000 and $50,000 range," spread over five years if necessary, to improve competitiveness for state grant programs the city intends to pursue. The presenters said the city expects no direct impact to property taxes because the project relies primarily on urban renewal (TIF) revenues.
Supervisors raised operational and design questions, including whether the police office in the facility would include a jail or require enhanced structural standards for high‑wind events. Presenters replied that the plan includes office space only ("No jail. Just the office.") and that architects would determine structural standards for any secure or detention spaces.
Supporters from the community and local institutions were cited in the presentation. The Winterset Community School District, the Madison County Health Care System, and the county economic development director were described as contributors of letters of support; the presentation said those endorsements and local fundraising would be combined with the requested county pledge to strengthen grant applications.
Next steps: presenters invited follow-up questions and suggested the city will continue capital‑campaign outreach; the supervisors did not vote on a county pledge at the meeting but accepted the presentation and noted they will consider the request during budget and grant‑planning discussions.
