Preservation Plaza band shell on hold

A new $1 million band shell and concert stage was proposed at Preservation Plaza, with support from Andrea Waitt Carlton and her foundation, Messengers of Healing Winds. The foundation's donation fell short of project estimates and the Board of Historic Arnolds Park, Inc. has put the proposal on hold for now.

Saying they'd like to focus on existing projects that need upkeep, Board of Historic Arnolds Park, Inc. members said they will put a proposed band shell and concert stage on hold for now

The HAPI board in August received a $1 million donation to start the project from Andrea Waitt Carlton and her foundation, Messengers of Healing Winds. Features were to include a glass back wall with a scenic view of Lake Okoboji, nautical elements, as well as native field stone and shake shingles to blend in with architectural style of the Queen's Court area. Construction would have taken place in Preservation Plaza, the green space which serves as a concert venue near Arnolds Park Amusement Park.

Project costs exceeded the Healing Winds donation by $250,000 and board members didn't feel comfortable starting a fund drive or diverting revenue away from existing projects that need upkeep.

"Messengers of Healing Winds has always been very generous to different projects around Lake Okoboji and certainly, specifically to Arnolds Park, especially helping us preserve that Green Space," said Walter Mendenhall, HAPI board chairman. "They came forward with the the idea of consideration of a band shell, which was intriguing to us as well. The architectural plans looked wonderful, but when they came up with the estimate of cost, it was beyond what Messengers of Healing Winds had offered as a gift. It was substantially beyond it to the point that we didn't feel we could put that into our budget. We didn't think, at this time, that it was appropriate to initiate a fund drive for this, either.

The HAPI board said it will continue to look at a series of large capital expenses in the upcoming year, including upgrades to the Queen II excursion boat, the Iowa Great Lakes Maritime Museum and the Legend, a rare wooden roller coaster at the Arnolds Park Amusement Park.

"We're hopeful that we can coordinate with the Messengers of Healing Winds in the near future," Mendenhall said. "It's just, at this time, the numbers didn't align well enough for us to feel that we could put it into a budget or initiate a fund drive for it. We have a great relationship with Messengers of Healing Winds and have a great appreciation for their generosity and the way they work with the Arnolds Park board and the community."

In its statement, the HAPI Board said the decision to delay the band shell project came after "much deliberation and assessment," but will help maintain a policy of not not taking capital improvements without identifying funding.