116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Tiffin rec center in the works as population keeps growing
No proposal yet, but officials engaging an architect and looking at sites
Jan. 14, 2024 6:00 am
TIFFIN — When Frank Haege was hired as Tiffin’s first recreation director four years ago, the city didn’t even own a basketball. These days, more than 300 kids play basketball through the city’s youth sports program.
But what the fast-growing city still doesn’t have: a rec center of its own.
Census records show Tiffin was Iowa’s fastest-growing city between 2010 and 2020, and its leaders have been immersed in trying to keep roads and city services like fire protection up to date with the growth. Quality-of-life amenities for culture and recreation — and economic development — have gotten attention, too, as ways to encourage those who come to the city to stick around.
Tiffin began working on a recreation program in 2018, when city leaders conducted a community survey to determine public interest in a recreation facility. The interest was high, so the city set aside money to hire a recreation director and start planning to build a rec center. Haege was hired in early 2020. But the pandemic threw a wrench in the plans for a public facility.
“They had allocated some money for the design and the whole deal, and that’s kind of why they brought me on board was to help plan it, along with getting some youth and adult sports and activities rolling,” Haege said. “Then COVID hit and everybody had to freeze everything. So we just had to put the whole deal on the back burner, but they were stuck with me.”
The city is once again working on plans for a rec center. Haege and other city staff have been visiting recreation centers in similarly-sized communities and conducting research about what a successful Tiffin facility could look like. Nothing concrete has been determined yet, but the city is exploring options for location and amenities.
“We've hired an architectural firm. We are identifying and reviewing potential sites. We are working on a conceptual drawing — a schematic, if you will — of what the facility could look like, based on what we think we can afford, what we can pay for, what we can staff. And that’s going to take a little while,” Tiffin City Administrator Doug Boldt said.
Since nothing has been proposed yet to City Council, there’s no budget for the rec center, but funding for it likely would come from a 1-cent local-option sales tax that Tiffin voters passed in September, according to Boldt.
Tiffin Mayor Tim Kasparek, who was elected to the position in November, said he’s heard mixed opinions about the creation of a rec center, with some people saying they’re excited about it and others worried about how much it would cost.
“I think it's very unfair for us to ask the community what they want, when they don't have the full picture in front of them. I know the council has done some nice things in terms of getting the ball rolling with some of the feasibility studies and taking a look at locations that might make sense,” Kasparek said.
“I think the next step will be getting that information into the hands of the community and saying, ‘Here are some of the things we can do. Here’s the price tags that accompany them. Let’s have a conversation.’”
Growing recreation program
Despite the delay in building a recreation facility, Haege has had plenty to do as Tiffin recreation director.
The city’s youth sports program works in partnership with North Liberty and Coralville to create sports leagues for teams to compete in basketball, volleyball, flag football and other sports.
Haege also helps coordinate adult sports programs and exercise classes, as well as coordinate maintenance and use of the city park, where most of the city-sponsored recreation takes place.
Haege said enthusiasm from the growing community has been helpful in determining how to use city resources for recreation.
“At some point you just have to say, ‘we’re doing it’ and open up registration and see what happens. Everything went pretty well for all the new sports,” Haege said.
“You try to project, to guess what’s going to be popular. Is biking going to continue to grow? Is pickleball going to continue to grow? Is disc golf going to come back? You try to do your best to research this stuff and see what the trends are supposed to be, and then you try to align yourself the best you can with those trends and start trying to offer those opportunities. Then you just adjust as you go.”
Economic development
The recreation program is one of the many ways Tiffin has had to adjust during the last decade as it has grown from a town to a small city. The U.S. Census estimates there were 5,808 people living in Tiffin in 2022, up from the 4,512 counted in 2020. The city has almost tripled in population since the 2010 census, when there were 1,947 people living there.
City leaders say they believe the small, close-knit community vibe in Tiffin is part of what has drawn so many people there, so they hope to keep those values while also adjusting to the continued development in the area.
Boldt said he believes many people come to Tiffin because it’s a peaceful place to live. While it doesn’t have a lot of the amenities that larger cities have, it’s close enough to Iowa City that those amenities aren’t too far away.
“We’ve been a bedroom community for a long time. We recognize that. We own it. So, that's what our development efforts have been — it's been housing,” Boldt said. “Now that we have roof tops, now that we have the population, we are starting to focus a lot more on economic development, because we've got the people and we've got the infrastructure that can support that.”
In recent years, the city has seen more businesses moving in, including a Fareway that opened in 2019. The Fareway is the only grocery store in the city so far. Tiffin also has a vet clinic, two day care centers, two dentists and an eye doctor that have all come to town in the last few years, according to Boldt.
Park Place, a developing area just off Interstate 80, has brought a couple of large entertainment options to the area, including a golf and entertainment facility called PinSeekers that opened in November, and an IMAX and family entertainment center, which still is in development.
The IMAX center is being built by Des Moines-based Fridley Theatres and will be called the Palms Theatres. According to a Facebook post made by the company in August, architectural designs for the cinema are still being finalized.
Other businesses that have opened at Park Place include Coffee Emporium, Casa Tequila, 380 Nails, Farmers State Bank and iGYM.
Balancing the development with infrastructure needs and the desires of community members for public services is a matter of communicating with the people about what is most important to them, Kasperak said.
“I think there’s not a lot you can’t get done through a good conversation,” Kasperak said. “We’ve got a lot of people who, because of the growth, simply weren’t here five to 10 years ago. Now they’re in the community and we should be listening to those folks.”
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com
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