What Kind of Art Should Waukee's Trail Head Showcase?

Do you have ideas for the scope of the public art installation planned for the Waukee Trail Head of the Raccoon River Valley Trail?

Share them at a public meeting set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, in the 560 S.E. University Ave.

A Waukee community arts consortium has proposed constructing a public art installation at the City's Raccoon River Valley Trail Head, located at the intersection of Hickman Road and County Hwy. R22. Supporters want the art work to be iconic in nature and a highly visible symbol of the current and future Waukee community, according to a news release.

It is expected that most funding for the project will come from grants and by corporate and private donations. The completed art installation will be owned and maintained by the City of Waukee.

City offficials have hired RDG Planning & Design, and their principal David Dahlquist, of Des Moines, to lead the design phase of the project. RDG, along with the Waukee Area Arts Council, will host the first of a series of public meetings on April 24 to gain community input for the design phase of the project. Anyone with ideas or just an interest in this public art project is encouraged to attend and participate in this meeting, organizers said.

For more information contact: Jim Miller, Public Art Committee Chair, 515-224-5516, Jim.Miller@MorganStanley.com or Cindy DePond, Waukee Area Arts Council, 515-306-0999, ckwrk@aol.com.

Members of the Waukee Public Art Ad Hoc Commitee are:

Jim Miller – Morgan Stanley, Committee Chair

Cindy DePond – Waukee Area Arts Council

Matt Jermier – City of Waukee, Director of Parks & Recreation

Ron Stallman – Partner at Short & Company CPA, PLC

Dave Wilkerson – Superintendent, Waukee Schools

Eric Crowell – President & CEO, Iowa Health Systems, Des Moines

Chris McLinden – Owner, Axis Human Capital

Rick Johnson – Owner, MulchMart

Peg Armstrong-Gustafson – Owner, Amson Technology

Dan Dutcher – Terrus Real Estate Group

Cindy Jensen – RRVT Association Board Member

Randy Jensen – RRVT Association

Background on the Raccoon River Valley Trail from the Bike Iowa website:

Construction of the RRVT trail system began in 1989 and will be complete as of June 2013. The trail is built on abandoned rail lines, and passes through 14 communities [Waukee, Adel, Redfield, Linden, Panora, Yale, Herndon, Cooper, Jefferson, Jamaica, Dawson, Perry, Minburn & Dallas Center] located in Dallas, Guthrie and Greene Counties. The trail connects these communities in a unique way, similar to that of the original passenger trains that operated on the rail line.

The RRVT links directly into the greater Des Moines metro trail systems (at Waukee and Clive) offering Iowa’s largest metro area direct access to this unique rural corridor system.