Dubuque council approves application for Jeffers Family Foundation challenge grant to restore Eagle Point pavilions

Dubuque’s City Council voted unanimously June 15 to authorize staff to apply for a Jeffers Family Foundation challenge grant and to use budgeted Parks funds to pay upfront consultant fees for a multi-year fundraising campaign to restore the Eagle Point Park pavilions at the Alfred Caldwell property.

Planning Services Director Wally Wernimont told the council the city has already completed a historic structures report funded by a Jeffers planning grant and has been invited to apply for a larger challenge grant. He said the foundation would fund roughly one-third of the effort while the city and private donors would need to raise the remaining two-thirds: “for every dollar that Jeffers provides, we’re required to come up with $2 for that.”

Wernimont said the Parks Department budget includes consultant funding over the next three years and that consultant fees would be covered as a hard cost rather than paid strictly on performance. “So it’s ultimately the consultant, it’s not paid on performance, it’s actual hard costs that we’ll be covering upfront,” he said.

Councilmembers described the project as a major preservation opportunity. Councilmember Laura Roussell and others praised staff work to secure the invitation to apply and clarified that the city also expects to pursue other grant sources — including certified local government and Save America’s Treasures programs — to reduce the local fundraising burden.

The motion to receive, file and approve the staff recommendation to move forward with the application and consultant arrangement was made by Councilmember Tyson Leyendecker, seconded by Councilmember David Resnick, and passed on a 7–0 roll call.

Next steps include finalizing consultant scope and costs if the city is formally invited to apply, and continuing fundraising and grant-application work prior to construction planning.