By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa City Council held a regular meeting last night and received an update from the Mahaska Community Recreation Foundation on hosting a Junior League Softball Central Region Tournament at the Lacey Recreation Complex. The tournament will come to Oskaloosa on July 23rd, which is the same date as the Sweet Corn Serenade, and it will wrap up on July 28th. MCRF General Manager MaKenzie Burk told the council that a tournament planning committee had been working on preparing for the festivities and asked for the city’s assistance in promoting the tournament and everything that comes along with it, including the volunteer opportunities that will be available.

The council also held a public hearing for the plans and specifications of the 8th Avenue West reconstruction project. The council selected the design of the project at their meeting on October 6th, 2025. It had an estimated cost of $190,539, but the project received a low bid of $141,828 from Blommers Construction, which was awarded following the conclusion of the public hearing.

And the council passed a resolution affirming the city’s support for awarding Phase 2 of the Southeast Connector Project under their 28E Joint Service Agreement with Mahaska County. 5 bids were received for Phase 2, with the lowest bid coming from Metro Pavers in the amount of $4,780,746.61. This was approximately $1.5 million under the engineer’s estimate of approximately $6.3 million. 65% of the cost, or roughly $3.1 million, will be covered by a RISE grant, with the remaining $836,630.66 to be covered by the city of Oskaloosa and Mahaska County. The resolution was approved unanimously by the council.

The next regular meeting for the Oskaloosa City Council will be held on March 16.