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Justin Brady: [00:00:00] Come with me to a magical place where being labeled the pork queen is a compliment. Where being nice is just a way of life and where all leaders of the free world must pass through. Welcome to Iowa. Whether you’re a current Iowan, an Iowa expat, or an Iowan at heart, this show is for you. This is the Iowa Podcast, real Iowans, real talk.

No drama From the Brady Dental Care Studio. I am Justin Brady and Bondurant. We didn’t talk about Bondurant because something crazy is going on in Bomber Bondurant with almost two X population growth from 2010 to 2020. Of course, we have Mayor Doug Elrod. Mayor of Bondurant in the studio to discuss just that.

Thanks for coming and coming on the show. Appreciate

Doug Elrod: it

Happy to be here. Thank you for the, for the invite.

Justin Brady: So a lot of, a lot of nuttiness [00:01:00] going on in Bondurant to equate to a two x growth in the 10 years. That’s kind of crazy. So we’re gonna talk about that. But before we do everybody, are you tired of us bringing in incredible Iowans?

Are you tired of that yet? If you’re not tired, Then go find the show, the Iowa podcast. It’s on all your favorite podcast players, and make sure to subscribe then, then share it with a neighbor. We’d appreciate that. So Mayor Elrod, thanks so much for coming on the show. That is the first thing. It is, I’m not wrong, right?

Almost two X population growth in 10 years.

Doug Elrod: Yeah, 91%, uh, by population. Yeah. So

Justin Brady: let’s start really broadly here. What happened? I mean, it might be a bunch of things, but I, I, what’s that big reason? And we can, you can, you know, be, be a hundred percent truthful. Maybe it’s like this big family that moved in and they had like 10,000 people in the family, but like, no realistically, like what happened?

Doug Elrod: Yeah. Uh, you know, it’s, it’s just a combination of, of a lot of different things. Uh, you know, first things first. [00:02:00] I live in a great community. Uh, we have a lot of great people, uh, that are very interested in getting to know each other, uh, and knowing who their neighbors are and their kids. Uh, and there’s a lot of interaction.

Um, you know, we are a metro community, uh, directly, uh, Tied to Des Moines, uh, you have all of the, uh, benefits of a, of a large metro area. Uh, but we’re a smaller community on the outskirts. Mm. So it’s very attractive to new families, especially with young families, uh, that, that want all of the amenities. But yet, Still a, a quiet and close neighborhood.

Uh, and, and it, uh, only takes 20, 15 minutes to 20 minutes to get anywhere in Des Moines. Uh, so it’s just a great, uh, location for the city.

Justin Brady: That is a really good point. Like, you know, you think of Bondurant, smaller towns, smaller community, and you’re like, well, what is, what is like the, there’s not like a big entertainment district.

But you, it’s a good point. Like you are close to other cities that offer some of that stuff, and so you just don’t have the taxes to pay for it all.

Doug Elrod: That is one of the [00:03:00] challenges of growing to, to the amount, uh, amount that we are for

Justin Brady: sure. Yeah. So, um, job creation, you, you sent us some of this over ahead of time.

3000 jobs since 2017, which is also incredible. Now I do have to ask, obviously Amazon made a big splash in bond rent, which was a huge win for you. How much of Amazon actually was the, like, how much of those jobs did Amazon bring in?

Doug Elrod: Uh, quite a few, uh, of those jobs, uh, that we’re referring to at 3000, um, they have two different facilities in Bondurant.

One is a large distribution facility and another one is a sortation center. Uh, and uh, so the majority of those jobs were provided by Amazon. How, how? Ever Having said that, there are o uh, a number of other businesses who have also joined, uh, in our community, uh, that are providing jobs as well. So it’s, it’s more than just Amazon.

Uh, we’re very proud, uh, in that fact. Um, you know, I’ll tell a, a, a little bit of, of a story on, on Amazon. We’re, we’re, we’re very lucky and, and very [00:04:00] fortunate to have them, um, join our community. Uh, and they’ve been fantastic partners, uh, with us in, in, in donations, uh, through local. Community found community organizations, uh, and different events, uh, and they’re great to, to have a round Bondurant.

Um, I will say that it was a, it was a, a concerted effort by the, by the city council, um, in partnership with the school district, uh, to attract, uh, industrial projects, uh, to the community. Uh, the, the, the school system was growing, um, you know, such to the point just, you know, like the community, uh, where, uh, They’re trying to figure out how to accommodate all the new students, uh, in, in the community.

Oh, that’s a good problem.

And so, you know, years ago, uh, they, they approached the community and, and, uh, forecasted the need for two different, uh, bond referendums within, um, a period of, of five years, uh, or so, uh, from one another. Uh, I believe the first one was going to be 20 million. The second one was gonna be 25 million.

Some. Something along [00:05:00] those lines. Uh, and, um, you know, the, the, the partnership between, uh, the two organizations was, was we wanted to attract industrial projects and commercial projects because we can add additional valuation, uh, to, to the, to the bank role. Mm-hmm. Uh, for both organizations without adding additional burden, um, by adding additional students to the community, um, by attracting industrial and commercial projects.

So it, it was, it was a fantastic win, uh, for, for Bondurant and Bondurant. Community, uh, uh, Bondurant Ferrara Community School District, uh, to, to find such a pro, um, uh, a partner, uh, that we did in in

Justin Brady: Amazon. Yeah, we’ll talk about kind of the positive fallout from that announcement, but also for those wondering, there’s a new, like, uh, announcement for the park.

Uh, you’re doing like an ice thing and a splash pad, amphitheater. We’re gonna talk about that as well. So, you know, there are lot, lots to go through, but, um, the. You mentioned something interesting that with Amazon coming in there, which kind of set off a chain reaction [00:06:00] is, is basically what I’m hearing.

What are some of the positive fallout? What is some of that chain reaction that came in? Because you know, you have a big brand like Amazon, that’s a cool name. Everyone is used to the. The box with the little blue ribbon on top, right? Everyone’s used to that. So that does raise some eyebrows and it brings some attention your way.

And so what was the chain reaction like? What is Amazon? You mentioned they’re doing things in the community. I think a lot of people would wanna know what they’re doing, uh, how they’re making contributions and what other businesses are like. You know what, I think we should go to Bondurant too. What happened?

Doug Elrod: Yeah. Um, you know, the, the, there’s a lot of, a lot of good I I’ll say that, that, that has come out from, um, Amazon and, and, and then joining the community. First things first, to your point. Uh, it’s notoriety. Uh, you know, people, everybody knows that the Amazon brand, uh, just about everybody I know, uh, uses them and, and orders, uh, stuff and gets stuff, uh, directly, uh, delivered to their home.

So it’s, it’s a, a convenience. Um, and, uh, having the first distribution facility in Iowa, uh, was, was [00:07:00] huge for just notoriety, for, for the community. Mm-hmm. Um, the, um, level of involvement that they’ve had. I’ll, I’ll give you an example. So, um, through a, a, a grant that we received from, from Prairie Meadows and, and others I should say, um, we, uh, um, created a, uh, block party in a box.

It’s a trailer that that is, that is fully. Uh, outfitted with, with all the things that you might need for a block party. Uh, and Amazon, uh, donated the tables, uh, that, that are located within that, that tra trailer for, for instance. Uh, it’s, it’s a whole conglomeration. I can’t point to just one. Right? Yeah.

Uh, item, there’s a whole lot of different opportunities that they’ve partnered with us and, and individual, uh, community found, uh, community, um, uh, organization, excuse me. Um, that, uh, uh, has really been a value add for the community. Now

Justin Brady: were, were there things you needed to do from a city stand? And then I want to ask about other businesses that came in later, because you mentioned that, but were there things that you needed to do structurally to prepare for a big move like that?

And, uh, obviously the whole show’s not gonna be by Amazon, but it is a, it is a [00:08:00] pretty big deal. So were there things that community had to do and then. Again, what were those other businesses that came in as a result? Yeah,

Doug Elrod: so, um, as far as what we had to do, do to prepare, um, infrastructure, uh, was a huge project.

And, and fortunately through a grant we received through Iowa Rise Grant, um, we were able to, to fund, um, The majority, uh, of the infrastructure needs, uh, for, uh, the facility. Uh, so that included, uh, several different roads, uh, and, and land acquisitions for this easements, things of that nature, uh, for, uh, being able to, and, and some new, uh, interchanges light interchanges.

Hmm, sure. Yeah. Uh, things of that nature. So yeah, it was, it was, it is it’s multimillion dollar, uh, investment in just infrastructure. Uh, and thank you to the state for, um, the, their partnership, uh, for us to con, uh, complete that, uh, project as far as new businesses that, that have come into town. Um, you know, I don’t, I don’t know that there’s any businesses that have, that have come to Bondurant.

Specifically because of [00:09:00] Amazon. Right, right. But we’ve had a, a, a whole host of, of different, uh, businesses that have come in into town as well. Uh, and, um, you know, it’s, it’s, I would say it’s more than just Amazon. Um, you know, from, from warehousing to O office. Um, you know, you know, Use. Mm-hmm. I would, I would say mm-hmm.

Um, we, we’ve, we’ve seen a huge insurgence of small commercial growth, uh, in the last year, uh, year and a half or so. So a lot of, um, of, um, small business owners are, are hanging their shingle up and, and Yep. Uh, uh, providing services, uh, to, to our residents. And, and that is hugely appreciated. You know, largely Bondurant, uh, historically, uh, has been kind of considered a, a bedroom community.

Hmm. Uh, where we would, uh, you know, sleep and, and, and live in Bondurant, but then come to Des Moines or other areas to work. And then in return, and, you know, the, the, the opportunity, uh, to, to add additional small commercial growth, uh, to our community is providing additional services and options, uh, for, for our own [00:10:00] residents, uh, to, to keep their money, uh

Justin Brady: mm-hmm.

It locally. Mm-hmm. Sure. That makes sense. The, um, I, now, I do wonder, one of the things now I’ve driven by several times that warehouse and there’s no traffic problems. Everything’s smooth. But is that a future concern? Because, you know, Amazon runs a lot of trucks. Um, they, they’re a big logistical operation.

Are there community concerns with, as Bondurant grows, as Amazon grows? Are there any traffic concerns and, and maybe there aren’t, I don’t know.

Doug Elrod: Yeah. You know, that was a big focus when, when we first, um, uh, were approached about the possibility of the business coming to this town. You know, first things first, we didn’t know who the business was when, when we first learned about it, but understanding the, the use of that space, uh, and, um, you know, traffic was, was a large concern.

Mm-hmm. Especially for, for the, for the neighborhood That’s, that’s right across the street from the, from the building. Um, you know, Amazon has, has been a great partner in, in Courtney. Coordinating a lot of their, uh, incoming and outgoing trucks, uh, during off peak hours of road use. Um, [00:11:00] and, uh, oh, that’s interesting.

That, that has been huge. And, and, and frankly, I live, um, probably a mile away from the Amazon facility, uh, maybe a little bit longer, maybe maybe two miles, I guess. Um, but I personally haven’t seen, uh, an uptick in, in truck traffic, and I’ve never thought, uh, to this day interesting. Uh, since they’ve, they’ve, uh, uh, they’ve opened up, uh, have I.

Second guest, uh, the, the opinion or the, the decision to have them come into

Justin Brady: town. Yeah. And I’ve driven by there several times during what, what, what I think people, most people would consider peak times, morning, evening drives. And I don’t live in Bond Durant, I live on the east side of Des Moines, so I’m kind of close, you know, I’m kind of an unofficial bomb Durant person.

Um, but. I like. It’s almost like you see they’re there, you see that’s activity, but it almost doesn’t go on the road for some. Yeah. So to your point, it is weird how they have figured out logistically to keep roads clean because for whatever they’re doing, it seems to be working. Um, I. Now, it was really neat.

I [00:12:00] actually like this. Your taxes have been reduced in the city. When some people see growth like this, the taxes go up, but that’s the opposite case. And I don’t know if this is related, but you had a clever deal with Amazon where they had the property tax, I think it was property tax abatement, but it quickly slides down 10% every year.

What, what, what’s the current status of that?

Doug Elrod: Um, yeah, I, I don’t, Recall offhand what year in, in the graduated cycle Right. That they’re in. Um, but you know, that that was another, um, huge partnership, um, that we had with, with them is, is in the first building. Uh, they asked us what we thought about tax abatement, uh, and, and what, what That’s, that’s nice.

Yeah. And, and how we responded is at the time we, we had two, uh, we have two programs, uh, for commercial industrial, um, Um, tax abatement. Uh, and so we offered those two and, and they said, okay, well, we’ll have the two. Which would you prefer? Huh? Interesting. And our response was, is well given the two, uh, [00:13:00] one option is a hundred percent abatement for, for a three year, uh, time period.

And the other one is, is a six year graduated, uh, where, which starts and it goes lower and lower. And, and, uh, from year one there, there’s a higher, uh, Influx of, of of tax dollars that come in with a second option. And we told them, we thought it might be a good idea, uh, to go with a second option because our, our school district could use a big shot in the arm Oh sure.

When it comes to the building projects that they need to, uh, to go through to, to expand. Yeah. So

Justin Brady: let, let’s talk about the school district a little bit. How is enrollment, obviously schooling and the school choice has been a big discussion in the last couple years and we’re obviously not gonna get into politics of that.

But as far as Bondurant for our, uh, ’cause that’s this school district, are you seeing an uptick enrollment? Are you seeing a plateau? What does it look like?

Doug Elrod: Well, you’d have to talk to the, the school district directly. I’m, I’m not sure that I’m, I’m in touch with, uh, uh, enrollment numbers aside from growth.

Uh, I, I have heard, uh, in discussions [00:14:00] that, uh, they’re tracking growth, uh, and, and population increase just exactly like we are, uh, to anticipate their needs. Um, you know, I, I will say that, uh, um, you know, aside from that though, I, I’m not exactly sure where we’re at. Um, in light of, you know, some of the recent changes.

With a voucher

Justin Brady: program. Yeah. And so what about the graduation rate? Because I know that’s one of the things you guys are really proud of is the graduation rate compared to state averages? Yeah,

Doug Elrod: we, you know, our graduation, uh, rate is 95%, uh, in, in the school district. And that’s a, that’s a stat to be proud of.

I, I think the state average is, is just slightly above 90%. So, uh, we’re outpacing them.

Justin Brady: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that’s really, that’s really, really cool. Um, so I want to talk a little bit about also the, like, have, have residents seen a growth in value of their property with all this growth? Like what does it look like to be a resident in Bondurant right now?

Yeah,

Doug Elrod: very much. I mean, I think of all, of, all of the state, um, has, has seen property valuations increase. Mm-hmm. And, um, you know, for, for some, depending on your, your [00:15:00] situation, that’s a good thing and, and a different situation. That’s not such a good thing. Right. You know? Exactly.

Justin Brady: Yeah. But yes, some people love it.

Doug Elrod: Some people hate it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We, we are seeing, uh, higher values. Um, I would say that the, the city is just crossed the, the 1 billion, uh, mark and Wow. And property valuations, uh, for the city and, and, uh, so, so that’s a, that’s a huge win. Um, and you know, and, and when we look, when I think about.

Property valuations. You know, I, I think about incoming tax money mm-hmm. That comes into the city. Uh, and, and so first things first, when, when I think through that, um, I, I, I have to remind. Myself that this, it’s not the city’s money, it’s, it’s the resident’s money. Mm-hmm. Who’s, who’s paying these taxes.

Mm-hmm. Right. Um, so when it comes to the, to the taxes, we, we have taken an overt, um, you know, strategy, uh, to, uh, as we get a pay raise, we need to pass that pay raise along to our residents. So, oh, interesting. Since 2017, we’ve reduced property taxes, uh, by nearly [00:16:00] 19%. Wow. In town. And, and, you know, Just, uh, just a couple of years ago, um, we, we passed the largest tax reduction in Bondurant history.

Huh. Um, and, and a lot of that is, is, you know, I think about it this way, um, at, at work, when you receive a pay raise, if you receive a percentage pay raise, if you take a portion of that and you put it directly into savings, you never even see it. You never even realize that it’s gone. Sure, yeah. We’re, we’re doing the same exact thing when it comes to property taxes.

When we have additional money come on for property valuations and, and we see the influx in, in, in the incoming, uh, property tax dollars. We’re taking a portion of that, putting it directly aside for a residence, uh, as a means of, of, um, you know, returning the money to where it belongs.

Justin Brady: Now, do you see people coming to Bondurant from surrounding states or areas throughout the nation?

Because property value, like, because, uh, housing prices are. I mean, it’s not, it’s not crazy to see housing prices across the nation, especially in bigger cities, are going absolutely crazy. And with C O V I D people moved outta the bigger cities, [00:17:00] did you see a lot of those people moving out of bigger cities coming to Bond Durant for housing?

Doug Elrod: I. Yeah. Uh, I’ve got a neighbor, uh, that, that moved here from, uh, from California during the middle of Covid. Oh really? Uh, and, you know, that’s, that’s, uh, that, that’s a good opportunity. Uh, you know, we have, uh, fiber optic network, uh, throughout, uh, all portions of town. Oh, wow. Yeah. Uh, and, uh, so that, that was a big win.

Uh, and, and an. An initiative for us. Um, but it provides an opportunity for people to, to, to take advantage of remote work. Uh, and if they can locate their family true, uh, and, and their life and a community that that’s a tight knit, uh, little slower pace and and, but has all the amenities of, of, uh, big city, big city living, uh, then it’s a win-win.

Yeah.

Justin Brady: The remote work thing is interesting, isn’t it? How, and, and so you do you credit the remote work and the ability to work anywhere with some of that growth then? Not specifically, or in maybe in part a small percentage if

Doug Elrod: they not specifically. You know, I think, uh, a lot of it. That was funded or that’s kind of [00:18:00] driving the, the population growth is really land availability.

Uh, and, you know, we had, we had a lot of, uh, available land. We’re, we’re super close, uh, to the metro. Uh, and some of that super close ground is starting to get, uh, you know, gobbled up, uh, in, in other communities. That’s true.

Justin Brady: Yeah. That’s a good

Doug Elrod: point. You know, it’s just, it’s just another option. Um, you know, I wouldn’t, I’m not classifying that, that our opportunities are better than other communities, but, you know, it’s just, that’s a, that’s a, yeah.

A a a metric in, in the

Justin Brady: form of you’re the mayor though. You can say that if you want. You can say we’re better than everybody else. Yeah, everyone will understand. That is a good point though. You know, some people want to take advantage, like, you know, like we talked about earlier, uh, they wanna take advantage of some of the stuff in the neighboring cities, but also, you know, you want a cheaper property, something to buy, something to get a house on, to start your family.

And so it’s, it’s kind of a best of both worlds scenario in that, in that sense. The, um, Yeah. So who are [00:19:00] the, like who is moving into Bondurant? Do you have like a certain demographic that’s really moving in rapidly? Like, I mean, 91% is kind of crazy. So who are these? Who are these crazy Bondurant people?

Doug Elrod: Yeah. You know, so, um, I guess when, when it comes to demographics, the average age, uh, median age of, of resident and Bondurant is 31 years old. Wow. Uh, so that’s a, that’s, that’s a younger, um, population. Uh, and, um, yeah. And we’re also seeing a lot of young families or, or, or young individuals who are just, uh, starting the family process.

Sure. Yeah. Uh, so, you know, some of that growth is, is also, uh, birth rates and, and whatnot. Um, You know, but, uh, yeah, our median age is, is a fairly young demographic.

Justin Brady: Yeah, no kidding. So, uh, any plans then to. Like cater to that in the near future. Like obviously we’re going to talk about the city park, but are there plans to create entertainment districts or, ’cause this is, this is actually, I would [00:20:00] imagine a tough choice because it’s like, all right, people move here ’cause it’s quieter.

It’s not insane, it’s not insanely busy. That is a big selling point. The older I get sometimes. Um, So do, but, but do we create this entertainment district and make things loud and busy? Do we keep things the way they are and grow quietly? Do you have those discussions? And is that a tough

Doug Elrod: choice? Yeah, absolutely.

Um, I’ll, I’ll come right back to that. Yeah. But I’m gonna start a little bit earlier in the process please to tell, to answer that question. Um, so, you know, anytime a city goes through such a population growth explosion like that we’ve been experiencing, yeah. It’s crazy. You know, it. It’s, it’s important that we’re very mindful, uh, and we’re very proactive, uh, in looking ahead to the future and anticipating what that growth might look like.

Let’s solve the, our philosophy is let’s solve, let’s consider and solve the questions and problems that we anticipate. We will in, uh, face mm-hmm. In the near future. Mm-hmm. Um, one, one of those [00:21:00] activities that we went through was, is we had to refresh our comprehensive plan. Uh, the comprehensive plan is, is really kind of the plan for the city.

It, it sets the vision for where we’re going. Uh, and, um, you know, it, it has lots of different components. I mean, we’ve created a, a master sewer plan, um, a storm water master plan, uh, an arts, um, Way finding culture plan. Wow. Okay. You know, there’s lot, there’s lots of components to that. True. And all of these individ individual, uh, components.

And, and the comp plan itself, um, was, um, we were very intentional about including as many people in that processes as we possibly could. Hmm. Um, so included with that, our, our city, um, officials, uh, city staff, uh, we have lots of boards. So the city council planning and zoning. Board of adjustments, uh, we had the school board involved.

We had, um, members of, of the, the chamber and, and individual business owners represented within that. So the, the, the more, the better it was was our mentality. It was our [00:22:00] mentality. Uh, we had, we had very large rooms. Filled with people as we’re discussing, um, you know, the thought process and vision, uh, for where we want to, to go in, in Bondurant.

Um, and so the, the level of involvement and feedback, um, it was just absolutely fantastic. Um, and. You know, uh, more than anything, um, the, the driving, um, culture, uh, mentality that, that we heard over and over, over and over again from our residents, uh, was we wanna maintain, no matter how big we get, we wanna maintain our hometown feel.

Oh,

Justin Brady: that’s

Doug Elrod: interesting. Yep. And so, um, and, and then, you know, specifically, To, to your question in regard to parks and what type of, uh, of amenities the city offers, uh, is, is really, um, we heard a lot about from, from younger, uh, new residents and younger families, that they want opportunities to spend time with their family and their friends outdoors.

Recreating. Oh, [00:23:00] so there was an opportunity. So City Park, uh, downtown, um, Bondurant, um, has been around for, for some time, and it, and it, it’s been a, um, it’s been a project that we’ve, uh, added to, we, we’ve, um, we, we’ve bought. Ground, we’ve acquired ground, uh, in this city block, uh, a little bit at a time over the years.

Mm-hmm. Um, and, um, we, we now, uh, have the entire city block devoted to a city park. Um, and, and as it sits today, it, it’s an. Absolute wonderful place, uh, to spend. You. There’s, there’s basketball courts. Uh, our farmer’s market is there. Uh, there’s a shelter house that can be rented. There’s playground equipment and, and, and a lot of people utilize this space.

Um, but as we, we thought through what the needs of our community are today, uh, and, and the demographics of, of our city, we thought there’s opportunities to, to, uh, incorporate. Uh, some new, um, possibilities with a park, you know, new, new ways of spending time there in including a splash [00:24:00] pad. That, that was something that was, was overwhelmingly wanted by our community.

Uh, so an opportunity for, for kids to go splash in the water. Cool off during the summer. Um, we, we have a space for, uh, we’re, we’re, uh, greatly increasing the amount of playground equipment, uh, in, in the park. Uh, new, all new basketball courts. Uh, uh, Wow. To, to bring them up to, to speed. We’re gonna keep the one, um, shelter house we have, we’re gonna be adding an another shelter house, or at least that’s the plan at some point in the future.

An amphitheater, uh, for, for community gatherings, uh, and uh, an ice ribbon.

Justin Brady: Yeah. So this is what you’re doing. You’re, you’re gonna grow the city. Um, you know, you’re on that growth tra trajectory, obviously, which is crazy. Not like we said, almost two x in the last 10 years. Um, but you wanna maintain, that’s almost your vision statement.

I don’t know what your vision statement is. I didn’t look that up sadly. But, uh, it’s almost like we wanna grow, but not at the expense of maintaining the hometown feel, which is interesting. And so I, I really liked that you paid [00:25:00] attention to the residents. That you’re keeping that small town feel outdoors stuff, outdoor activity, and not necessarily focusing on the big metro and like really loud entertainment.

Um, focusing on that more community aspect, what we gotta ask. What is an ice ribbon? I have never heard of an ice ribbon in my life. What, what, what is this? How is it made and how is it different than an ice rink? I think everybody knows what an ice rink is, but what is an ice ribbon?

Doug Elrod: Sure. Uh, you know, the, the, the whole point, the council, when, when we started talking about city park and, and talking about different, uh, amenities and, and things to do there, um, the, the, the line of thinking was, is, is can we create an opportunity, uh, for the park to be used, uh, by our residents?

Throughout all times of the year. Mm. Uh, and you know, there’s not many people using the basketball courts when there’s snow on the ground, so let’s find an opportunity to, to use it when that’s during the winter. Uh, and so the, the, the ice ribbon, I mean, clearly space is, is at a [00:26:00] premium. Mm-hmm. Uh, we only have one block to, to per, uh, the entire, uh, city park, uh, within, uh, the ice ribbon is, is essentially how it’s, uh, arranged, uh, in, in the, the.

Vision of what it will look like when it’s all done, uh, is going, it’s, it’s a ribbon that goes around the splash pad. And it provides, you know, I’m not even, I don’t even recall how wide it is. Um, but it, it will be space that you can ice skate, uh, and it will be actual ice. Um, and you can kind of go around in, in a, in a, in a, in a format, in a rink.

Everybody goes around the, the rink. Yes. But it’s just a wide open space. Right. Uh, where this ice ribbon. There’s, there’s not space in the middle of a rink, let’s say. Mm-hmm. To, to skate. But you still have the perimeter, uh, so to speak, uh, to be, to be able to ice skate.

Justin Brady: So it’s, it’s less rink, more almost like racetrack look.

Yeah, that’s a good way to describe it. So it’s, it’s now three. It is hard for me ’cause I’m not like a, I love ice [00:27:00] skating. Love ice skating. So the fact this is opening, like I said, I live on the east side of Des Moines, so the fact that this is opening closer to me is very exciting. Um, How big is it? I think it’s 382 linear feet.

So like if you stack that on top of, it kind of looks like a little mini racetrack. If like from Bird’s eye view, I looked at the plans. If you stack it on top of like, Metro Ice or West Des Moines, like new ice, like a standard hockey ice rink. Is it roughly the same size? Is it a little bigger? What does it look, do you?

Great question.

Doug Elrod: You’re giving me, I know, man. Question. Yeah, great question. I’m

Justin Brady: not sure why aren’t you an expert on everything? We’re also gonna talk about the new Boeing 7 87 Dreamliner and how it’s engineered. Do you have any thoughts on that? Mayor Elra? I’m gonna need to,

Doug Elrod: uh, phone a friend on that

Justin Brady: one.

That’s super funny. Uh, but, but so there’s going to probably be like, Skate rentals, I’m assuming that kind of stuff on near ice? We haven’t gotten that far, honestly. Okay. Because Okay, because it’s, yeah, it’s a few years out,

Doug Elrod: obviously. Yeah. So this will be, this, this whole city park will be a multi-phased approach.

Right. Um, and in, in, in the first [00:28:00] phase, um, what we’re planning on doing is, is we’re going to be investing in putting the infrastructure underground to be able to one day build the, um, the, the, uh, ice ribbon. What does that

Justin Brady: look like? Is it cooling pipe? It’s not cooling pipe.

Doug Elrod: Really? Yep. Pipe. ’cause you need to fill it and drain it.

You gotta. Fill it and drain it. Oh yeah. And then eventually, you know, we’re gonna need to acquire, um, the, the equipment to be able to maintain it. Sure, yeah. Makes sense. And, uh, keep it running. So

Justin Brady: do you Zamboni something like that outside? At, at some point we

Doug Elrod: probably, probably will need one. Really?

Justin Brady: That’s crazy.

So in the, in the summer then, what’s the plan for that? Is it just going to be covered up with like a. Walking track? Or is it just going to be like roped off? I’m, I’m assuming it’s not gonna be roped off. What does that look like in the

Doug Elrod: summer then? Yeah. Uh, you know, a good question there, there’s a whole host of different things we could do with it.

Sure. Okay. Got it. And, and that’ll be part of our Parks and Rec, uh, department that will, that will manage that. Um, but you know, right now for phase one, we’re, we’re, uh, putting the infrastructure, which will facilitate that later on. And, and it will be future action during future [00:29:00] Phasings to actually install it.

So it’ll be a number of years. Well, I want it, I

Justin Brady: want it to be next year, so come get going on that please. ’cause I’m nearby. Um, and then Al also, I should say you guys are adding into that plan like a food truck kind of station too, which is really, really cool. W so just our last like minute here, what’s next?

And then of course if people wanna move to Von Durant or reach out and learn more information, how do they do that? Of course.

Doug Elrod: Absolutely. Well, uh, the second question first, uh, come out and take a look. We’re, we’re within 15, 20 minutes. Uh, give us a call. We, we’d love to spend some time with you and, and talk to you about the advantages of Bondurant.

I love that

Justin Brady: small town, right? Yes. Small. Give us a call. Yep. That’s literally how I got you in the studio. I gave you a call and you’re like, oh, sure. And then you call me back, you’re like, Hey, yeah, I’d love to do it. It’s super, I love the small town thing. Yeah, it’s

Doug Elrod: fantastic. Absolutely. Absolutely. We, we pride ourselves in, in connecting with people.

Uh, in fact, our city motto is life connecting and for that exact reason. That’s good. Um, [00:30:00] what’s next? Um. Where do I start? You can

Justin Brady: break news on this podcast if you want. We, we love that

Doug Elrod: there, there is a whole list of projects that we have, uh, that are ongoing and ones that we’re working on in the future.

Uh, so thi things, uh, as boring as a pavement condition index and including a table of understanding what’s the condition of our streets and, and how do we get on a schedule to budget, um, making repairs to those, those in a regular format. Um, It to excitement of, uh, potentially a, a new park, uh, someday. Hmm.

Uh, you know, we, we have a, a plot of ground that, um, we have an opportunity to create a regional, um, detention basin. Mm-hmm. Uh, that, that will drain about 500 acres. Uh, and, um, you know, so that, that will result into about a 30 to 30. Six acre lake, uh, and, uh

Justin Brady: oh, so like a, maybe a water sport thing is in the

Doug Elrod: future.

Yep, yep. Absolutely. We’re, we’re considering opportunities for kayaking, [00:31:00] canoeing, paddle boarding, stuff like that. Uh, kind of, uh, you know, uh, another opportunity to, to intermix, uh, commercial, uh, and provide space for, uh, that’s interesting. Yeah. Uh, residents to, to gather and interact with each other. Sure.

Um, it’s one of those things that I think we, we, um, we need to have, we, we’ve identified, we. We need to, to do a regional detention, uh, but let’s take advantage of it and, and plan to make it a fun

Justin Brady: location as well. Is that where you’re putting the new, uh, mayor of Bondurant dunk tank? Is that where that’s No, I’m just kidding.

Mayor Doug Elrod, the mayor of Bondurant, of course, Bondurant here in Iowa. Thank you so much for coming on the Iowa Podcast. I really appreciate it. Yeah, thank you for having me. And to my fellow Iowans, Iowa ex-Pats and Iowans at heart. Thanks for listening and subscribing to the Iowa [00:32:00] Podcast.