aDYSART — A remodeled wood-floored ballroom and multipurpose hall in the Dysart Community Building means more space for 80-plus young dancers of the Jeune Attente Dance Co. to practice their hip-hop, point, jazz and tap every Saturday.
The not-for-profit dance company had been displaced for about a year as the 1937 building received a face-lift, including larger bathrooms, upgraded wiring and handicap-accessible amenities.
They've been back now for three weekends after 11 months at the Dysart middle school in this Tama County town about 16 miles west of Vinton.
'We love the new mirrors and the openness of the building,' Jeune Attente President Catherine Leipold said. 'It feels brand-new, only it is not.'
For 78 years, the Dysart Community Building hosted school dances, weddings, Christmas bazaars, club meetings, fundraisers and elections. But it wasn't until the building was closed for nearly a year for modernization that its true effect was felt.
'By having it out of service for 10 months people really started to realize how much we used that building,' Mayor Pamela Thiele said. 'If you needed an event, you had it at the community building.'
A few years ago, the building faced an uncertain future. Repair needs were stacking up, and some wanted to tear it down.
The heating and cooling systems struggled with Iowa's weather extremes. The elevator-less two-story building challenged accessibility for residents of a city where 28 percent are 60 or older. And the cramped bathrooms weren't adequate for the busy schedule of activities.
Instead of demolition, the city decided to save the building. Many of the nearly 1,400 residents pulled together to raise $176,000 to secure a matching state grant to restore the building and a pavilion in Dysart Park.
'In these small towns you can go two directions,' said Don Zeien, a City Council member who was raised in Dysart and returned after 30 years away. 'You can put your head in the sand and say we can't compete with the Wal-Marts and the big box stores, or you can find your niche.
'Some communities' main streets are all boarded up. It's not like that here.'
The initial estimate for the remodel was $812,000 and later $770,000, but the contractor's bid came in lower than expected at $685,000, Thiele said. It's a good thing, too, because aspects of the project were running over, such as electrical problems discovered during renovations.
Some of that was to be expected when working on an old building, Thiele and Zeien said.
'Obviously you'd like it done quicker,' Zeien said. 'But you can have it done quicker or you can have it done right.'
The total cost still was under $750,000 when the drain below the kitchen failed, requiring a trench torn up across the floor to replace the drain. They don't yet have the bill for that, Thiele said.
'Because it's an old building, it ran a little longer than we hoped,' Thiele said. 'There were issues that were found as they were working on it... that needed to be addressed, but because the initial contract came in under budget, 'we had some wiggle room to address those issues,' she said.
While a September completion target proved unattainable and some finishing work remains, the community building was complete enough to reopen in time for the holidays, including a community gala in November to raise money to buy new tables and chairs for the building.
Thiele appreciates that patrons aren't forced to climb stairs immediately upon entering.
'It's so important to have the building as a space for the community to come together,' she said. 'That's why the gala was so great. We had everyone all back together in one house.'
While the building contract bid came in under budget, the low bid for the estimated $68,000 park pavilion, which serves as a bandshell for outdoor activities, came in nearly double at $140,000, delaying that project until next spring.
Thiele said they are reassessing the design and will scale back some aspects, such as stone work on the pavilion, so they can complete the project.
If they don't, they'd have to return some of the $176,000 grant through Vision Iowa, Thiele said.
'We want to get it to the specs we want, and some extras can be added at a later day,' she said.