Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Several generous donations recently helped make a community project in Royal become a reality, but there’s still a ways to go before officials can cut the ribbon.
The Royal Visioning Board was recently awarded a grant by the Clay County Community Foundation that complemented other gifts from the Royal Telephone Company, Royal Lions Club, Legion Post #248 and Legion Auxiliary. The money is funding an improvement project that will increase accessibility to the city’s parks and shelter houses.
The Royal Visioning Board was established in 2018 and has been working in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Transportation, Trees Forever and Iowa State University. Together, the group gathered with interested Royal citizens for meetings and planning sessions to field concerns and ideas from residents, with many voicing significant concern about the lack of accessibility to Royal’s parks and shelter houses. The visioning board then created goals and a concept plan to meet the concerns of the community members.
Board members introduced their blueprint last summer and started a plan of action immediately afterwards, beginning with making Triangle Park accessible to all. The local park is home to the Eternal Flame and Blue Star Memorial, and also hosts most Royal patriotic programs like Memorial Day services. It has never been handicap-accessible and was difficult for strollers or elderly residents to navigate.
After sharing ideas with the community, the idea took root – construct sidewalks and metal “bridges” to connect Triangle Park and shelter house to Main Street and Market Street. Legion Post #248 and Legion Auxiliary were the first to pledge funds towards the project, and the visioning board also received a grant for approximately $7,000 from the Clay County Community Foundation.
Currently, Phase 1 is underway with the first sidewalk installed. The second sidewalk, connecting the driveway to the flag storage unit, is set to begin soon. A walking path connecting Triangle Park to the Memorial Park is Phase 2 of the plan. This will allow pedestrians to safely walk from the city proper to Memorial Park and create access to recreational amenities.
Safety and efficiency being of top concern, it is hoped that Royal-area residents will utilize this existing recreational area more frequently.
The Royal Telephone Company and the Royal Lions Club have pledged funds to help this phase of the project become reality. The Royal Visioning Board is grateful for the willingness of the volunteers who have helped and continue assisting with the project. Grants and donations are the sole funding source, and the group appreciates each local organization that has pledged to bring this project to fruition.
