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Water slide upgrades, new trail connection coming to Fort Dodge

The slides at the Rosedale Rapids aquatic center will be restored to their former luster as a result of a contract awarded by the Fort Dodge City Council on Monday.

The council also moved to create a new way to access the Fort Dodge Nature Trail from North 22nd Street.

Water slides

Rosedale Rapids opened in July 2010 near the intersection of 10th Avenue North and 32nd Street. Since then, heavy use, sunlight, and chlorinated water have taken a toll on the slides, Ryan Maehl, the assistant director of parks, recreation and forestry, wrote in a report to the council.

The upcoming project will refurbish the slides to “near new standards,” Maehl wrote.

The work will start with removing all accumulated calcium, dirt and oils. Any damage to the slides will be repaired, the seams will be caulked and the interior slide surfaces will get a fresh coat of wax.

Additionally, the exterior surfaces of the blue tube slide, the family slide and plunge slide will be repainted.

The work will begin after this year’s pool season ends.

The council hired Fischer Brothers LLC, of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, to do the work at a cost of $101,005.

Baynum Painting Inc., of Newport, Kentucky, offered the only other bid of $106,700.

Trail connection

The new trail connection will start on North 22nd Street, just south of 20th Avenue North on a lot where a house once stood.

A parking lot with spaces for six vehicles will be built there, according to City Engineer Tony Trotter. He said a concrete path will be created to link that parking lot with the Nature Trail.

Trotter said the work will begin in July and take about two months to complete.

On Monday, the council hired Jensen Builders Ltd., of Fort Dodge, to do the job at a cost of $144,917.

Other bidders were Crow River Construction, New London, Minnesota, $217,007; and Castor Construction, Fort Dodge, $232,074.30.

The city has received a $400,000 state Community Attraction and Tourism grant to help pay for trail improvements.

The connection was envisioned in a trails plan adopted by the council in April 2018.

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