Council approves higher park admission and clubhouse fees; authorizes two‑year graffiti wall pilot

The Ottumwa City Council approved recreation fee changes and authorized a temporary public‑art project during Tuesday’s meeting.

Parks Director (presented in the packet) asked the council to raise the Railroad Clubhouse rental fee to $150 per day with a $50 damage deposit after staff comparisons with other area facilities. The council approved the change. Staff also proposed increasing daily summer beach admission from $6 to $7 and indoor‑only daily admission from $4 to $5; staff estimated the beach fee change would generate roughly $40,000 in additional annual revenue. The council voted to adopt the fee changes, and staff noted existing annual and summer pass options remain available.

Separately the council authorized a two‑year pilot project designating a retaining wall in the Third Street parking lot as a managed graffiti wall, to be overseen by the local arts council. Councilwoman Galloway and arts representatives said the arts council would curate the wall, bring in a professional graffiti artist for initial installations, invite community contributions, remove inappropriate content within 96 hours of notice and repaint the wall periodically. The project will be monitored and the wall restored to neutral color after the two‑year pilot unless an extension is approved.

Council members expressed support for the approach as a positive outlet for local artists while noting concerns about displacement of tagging to other sites; the city will document rules and include clear signage at the site.

What to expect: Parks staff will implement the new fees for the 2025 season and work with the arts council to finalize the graffiti‑wall rules and signage.

Quote

"Increasing the summer daily admission fee to $7 per day and the indoor only fee to $5 per day should increase beach and tumble revenue by approximately $40,000 per year." — Parks presenter