City Council Approves ‘Marquee’ Gazebo Project in Fort Calhoun
Gazebos have been around for thousands of years, according to gazebocreations.com. They were once much bigger than the ones usually seen today, but one being proposed in Nebraska could be reminiscent of the ones from ancient years past.
Fort Calhoun is a small city in Nebraska with just under 1,000 residents. It’s a generally quiet town with beautiful surrounding landscape, including the nearby Fort Atkinson State Historical Park. They could be adding another decorative piece to their landscape soon as the city council approved plans September 21 for a new park facility that could host concerts and other public events, according to the local news site enterprisepub.com.
The project will be funded primarily through the use of lottery funds; up to $24,000 were approved for use on the project. The West Market Square Park gazebo, as it’s being called, is estimated to cost $16,869 for necessary materials like concrete, lumber, and shingles. Unlike typical gazebos, which are usually relatively small structures, the Fort Calhoun project plans to be 32 feet wide with a two-tiered room.
After studying other public space gazebos, the park board president, Randy Schrum, decided adding features like a railing around the diameter will help it look classy and make it Americans with Disability Act compliant.
“It will really be a marquee structure for the city,” said Nick Schuler, a council member and park commissioner.
The gazebo will be located at the northeast corner of West Market Square Park, which is on Monroe and 15th street. It will be 804 square feet in total. They also hope to add lights, landscaping, painting, and staining to the gazebo at some point after its completion.
The city will save on costs through donations of labor and money as well. The local Welchert and Knight families are donating blueprints for the gazebo and labor, Rock Hard Concrete will offer concrete and labor services, and other citizens are offering money to help cover expenses.
