Fund-raising matching opportunity for Elma Community Complex

ELMA - The Elma Community Complex Committee is excited to announce Joe and Kathy Whitinger have graciously pledged another $50,000 and Bruce and Callie Weigel have pledged an additional $25,000 in memory of Bill and Marlene Weigel. In addition, BRIDGE Organization donated another $10,000 and Peoples Savings Bank another $10,000 to this project if donations are received by Jan. 15, 2021 to match the $95,000 pledged. 

This is a great opportunity for people to enhance the impact of their donations and a great opportunity to continue with the progress of the Elma Community Complex project.

Local medical services, increased daycare capacity and fully handicap-accessible library adjacent to the daycare and bus-stop are just a few of the ways the Elma area will benefit when this project is complete. The ECC project involves all non-profit organizations and is being done in phases as funding allows. No taxpayer money will be used for this project. 

The first phase involved the deconstruction of the former brick school building and was completed this past spring. The second phase, building a medical clinic on Busti Avenue, is nearing completion and is scheduled to open in October. Regional Health Services of Howard County Elma Medical Clinic plans on providing family care services which include physicals, prenatal care, acute visits, lab services and well child checks. 

The third phase will be repurposing a portion of the gymnasium into a city clerk’s office and multipurpose community room and bathroom renovations. The handicap-accessible room with kitchenette will be used for library programming for adults and youth, community meetings and gatherings (city council meetings, family gatherings, etc). Capacity will be around 50 people. The community room will serve as a temporary location for the three- year-old preschool program until the daycare addition is complete. 

The fourth phase involves adding a larger infant room onto the existing daycare and repurposing the current infant room into a three year-old-preschool. “The addition to the daycare will allow us the space to go up to 16 infants and more easily separate infants, toddlers and school age kids,” shared Bruce Weigel, daycare board member. 

“Daycare services are critically important for us. They attract and retain young working families as our needs continue to evolve and grow. We have learned through the COVID epidemic that we need to be better able to separate the different age groups.”

The fifth phase is renovating the remaining portion of the gym into a library and then wrap up the project with finishing the parking lot and landscaping. “Our current library is not fully handicap-accessible, and our meeting room seats around 12 people. This location will allow us to be able to expand our programming opportunities, be fully handi- cap-accessible and more easily partner with the daycare on activities for children,” shares Renee Burke, Library Director. 

The location also serves as the bus stop for the Riceville and Howard-Winneshiek buses. The library is a safe place and provides resources for kids seeking assistance with homework. 

“For these nonprofits to remain viable and continue to provide their services in our community well into the future, we need to be creative and keep operating costs down. The City is not in a position to financially subsidize them, but by partnering we can better our community,” shared Laura Schroeder, member of the Elma City Council. 

The city plans to install two solar systems, one on the roof of the medical clinic and the other on the ground across from the former school. Both systems will use an investor to sell power at a discounted rate to the city to save cost on power, lowering the operating costs of the nonprofits involved. 

All gifts are welcomed and can include cash, grain or direct distribution from IRAs. The CARES Act signed into law in late March includes provisions related to charitable giving which makes 2020 a great year to increase charitable contributions and increase  tax savings. 

Up to $300 per individual can be deducted for those who do not itemize their deductions. Those who itemize can now deduct charitable donations up to 100% of their adjusted gross income, up from the former 60% limitation. 

Donations can be pledged over 2020, 2021 and 2022. All checks should be made out to the City of Elma – Elma Community Complex. Mail to Elma City Clerk PO Box 497 Elma IA 50628. There are also options for donations online at www.elmaia.com. For more information on the project, please call the Elma City Clerk at 641-393-2543.