New LED lighting going up in Central Park

Rich Mohrfeld with Mohrfeld Electric works on the wiring on one of the lighting posts in Central Park Thursday afternoon. The new lights are part of the upgrades from the Fort Madison Rotary Club's $100,000 fundraiser this summer. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

Posted Thursday, November 14, 2019 2:29 pm

BY PCC STAFF

FORT MADISON – New period lighting that was part of the Fort Madison Rotary's effort to raise $100,000 in 100 days, is being installed in Central Park.

The Fort Madison Rotary Club started the campaign in March with the hopes of raising $100,000 to refurbish the band shell in Central Park, do some repairs to the Statue of Liberty replica, and beef up the park’s maintenance fund. New lighting had been part of their improvement schedule.

New LED period lighting is being installed in Central Park this week. Photo by Chuck Vandenberg/PCC

The new lighting carried a $30,000 price tag according to earlier reports for the need of funds. Maintenance and upkeep of Central Park is part of the Fort Madison Rotary's community efforts.

The Rotary club allocated a portion for new park benches as well, but the lion's share has gone to revamping the band shell that had some serious foundation issues.

The city, conducting some routine inspections on the band shell, identified termite damage in the foundation timbers of the structure.

Current expenditures from the fundraiser included $6,000 to $8,000 for repainting the band shell, $30,000 for the new lights in the park, and at approximately $12,000 to refurbish the Statue of Liberty replica. The remained of the funds will be used for upkeep and future maintenance including the benches.