Visioning Workshop Summary
On the evening of May 20th, 2015, members of the Fort Dodge community gathered at the
Fort Dodge Public Library to discuss their vision for the City’s future. The Visioning
Workshop provided an engaging, hands-on approach to planning the future of Fort Dodge,
ensuring that programs, policies, and projects align with community needs and wants.
Thirty-five Fort Dodge residents participated in the Visioning Workshop. Working in small
groups, each group discussed potential plans and projects in several topic areas that would
improve Fort Dodge. These ideas were transferred to a large-scale map of the City and
presented to all workshop participants. This document summarizes the key themes and
ideas presented at the Visioning Workshop.
Residential Areas
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Loft apartments (like MLK in Des Moines) should be along corridors like 1st Ave
North, 15th St., and 5th Ave South, closer to Downtown
Redevelop Downtown buildings as industrial loft apartments
Construct market-rate rental housing
Expo pool – sell for $1 and develop condos
Existing neighborhood revitalization areas:
o Pleasant Valley – improve road conditions and abandoned homes
o Redevelop the west side neighborhood near Hydroelectric Park to take
advantage of the best views in town and help renew that area
o Clean up, clear out, and and/or repair neglected houses throughout the
community
o Hawkeye Avenue
New residential development areas
o Create new housing developments on vacant sites along 15th Ave North, east
along 22nd, and the Expo Pool Area (northwest side)
o Take advantage of vacant sites for new residential development (see Group
#2)
 Southwest of N 32nd St and 25 Ave N intersection
 South of the middle school
 West and east of Williams Drive curve
 NE of 10th Ave N and N 32nd Street intersection, water park area
 N or Knollcrest and 10th Ave N intersection
 SW of D14 and P56 intersection
o Create housing on the west side for Cargill and other industry employees
o Fox Briar
o North of Cooper
o South of aquatic center
Residential Policies
o Fort Dodge should adjust use of International Code for Housing Needs to
make sense for the community
o Zone for single family housing
Transportation
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New Streets
o Create east-west arterial corridors, which includes extending 180th Street to
connect to 25th Ave North
o Connect Quail Ave north to D14
o Build a new road on the east side of Mikos & Matt at light at Menards and
extend it south to 1st Ave South
Create a policy that favors roundabouts to traffic signals for a more continuous
traffic flow
Create a turn lane on 17th Street at 5th Ave
Property owners should help pay or be levied through assessments to improve the
streets in front of their property
Create a road through Loomis Park
Renovate the following roadways
o 3rd Ave S
o 4th Ave S
o S 18th St
Construct a pedestrian bridge by the hospital over the Des Moines River
Build a west-side connector to the center of town
DART service – expand to new development areas and create additional routes to
reach more destinations
Ensure new developments include bike routes and connections
Integrate bike infrastructure with the Crosstown Connector project
Parks, Open Space & Environment
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Hydroelectric & Little Dams
o Remove both dams to provide access throughout the river corridor
o Fix the dam gates
New trails
o Connect the south end trail network
o 15th Ave S from the river to 32nd St
o Kenyon to the riverfront near Pleasant Valley, connecting to 15th Ave S
o N 25th St to P56
o Connect the City to Dolliver
o Harlan Rogers straight to Kennedy Park
o South around the OHV Park
o 22nd Street to Woodlands
Make current more family-oriented with grills and picnic tables
Add rest stops/amenities on trails
Make Lizard Creek (from 160 to Des Moines River) similar to the Charlotte, NC
white water park
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Create an outdoor auditorium in a little used park, or create green space in the Fair
Oaks area
Eliminate Leif Ericson Park
Adopt a resolution to allow ATVs on city streets to help encourage growth and use
of the OHV park
Riverfront improvements
o Create a canoe, kayak, and recreation area at the river
Sunkissed Meadows improvements
o Build a ball park
o Install a par 3 golf course
Build an indoor sports complex
Fund Oleson Park or find a private buyer that will beautify and support the zoo
Place a KOA campground on the west side of Quail Ave at US 20, north of a possible
location for the Fort Museum
Build a new recreational areas from Quail Ave, east to Racine South, to 210th Ave
Grow the OHV Park to include the gypsum mines once the mines are played out
Community Facilities
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Create an event center along the riverfront
Build a recreation center
Build a community/convention center on the Warden Plaza site
Expand advertisement and awareness of historical areas
Build new educational and cultural institutions such as science centers, museums,
art installations, etc.
Create an “art park” of sculptures from local artists and Iowan artists
Enhance Downtown with public art
Public safety
o Increase the number of police foot patrols
o New fire stations
 Build a fire station on the west side
 More specifically, construct a fire station SW of 3rd Ave NW and 169
intersection
 Constuct a fire station at the Old Becker building, east of Triton Plaza,
south of Kenyon Rd
 Locate a station north by the airport
Educational Facilities
o Upgrade Fort Dodge Senior High School
o Build a new elementary school to replace Duncombe Elementary
o Expand the Middle School auditorium
o Improve the image of the schools
o Expand ICCC into the space previously occupied by the Fort Museum
Expand the hospital east across Kenyon, and attach a multi-family building
Expand the prison west and south
Commercial Areas
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Crossroads Mall
o Build a new mall at the site of Crossroads Mall
o Update the mall to an open-air mall environment
Repurpose Sunkissed Meadows for commercial development
o Dig out the flood plain and pile dirt in development areas (same as they do in
Florida)
o Make that area similar to Woodlands, Tx (well-planned and connected
riverwalk and commercial development)
Encourage more boutique shops in Downtown with outdoor cafes and seating
Potential for commercial nodes at the following locations:
o SE of 3rd ave NW and 169 intersection
o N of Sports Page, Norhtfield Church area
o Hydroelectric Park/riverfront
o 32nd St, behind Decker Truckline and west of N 32nd St
o College area – have more commercial for students to be able to access within
a reasonable distance
o 5th Ave S from 15th – 21st – modify codes to increase commercial
development on small lots along this stretch
Place a grocery store on the west side
Place a truck stop on the west side of 169 north of US 20
Industrial Areas
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New industrial areas should be close to transportation infrastructure
Continue to build north of the Decker development
As property changes hands, evaluate zoning to determine the best use
Future industrial areas should wrap around C+S products on N 15th St/P56
Future industrial growth should occur south of Triton Plaza (Kenyon Rd/169
intersection)
Maintain existing industrial growth policies
Keep industry out of the main part of town, focusing growth on P59 south of 5th Ave
South
New areas north of 170th Ave, west of Paragon Ave
All of Martin Marietta for underground storage when played out for duty-free
storage
Other Topics
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Develop lakes for recreation or high end housing
Develop the Highway 20 corridor to get drivers to stop in Fort Dodge
Annex areas west of 169 and north of starlight best western
Annex SW corner down tot US 20, via Old 169
SE Quail down to US 20 a bit east of Quail to incorporate new industrial area north
of 20