MOVILLE, Iowa - The city of Moville proved resilient in 2009, overcoming a devastating blow to the business district. Empowered by the efforts of local residents, the business community and the Moville Community Development Association, Inc., Moville bounced back.
Eighteen months after Country Foods in downtown Moville was declared a total loss after an April fire, and the adjoining hardware store closed, a new grocery (Moville Market) opened Oct. 26 off the frontage road near Highway 20. A grocery store on the highway with visibility and accessibility to motorists was considered a plus. The new store is managed by Chet and Linda Davis and daughter Shannon Phelan of Kingsley, where the Davises own and operate Chet and Lin’s Foods.
The non-profit group, MCDAI, garnered $250,000 to retrofit the former Carol’s Corner building, donated by Bob and Carol Logan. Of the $250,000, more than $200,000 came from donations by individuals, organizations, local and area businesses, $30,000 from the city of Moville, and $10,000 from the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors, said Heath Mallory, president and treasurer of MCDAI. Considering the building gifted by the Logans, the project total is more than $500,000.
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“And that amount does not include the ton of volunteered labor,” said Mallory.
Renovations included relocation of some heating and air conditioning, plumbing, and rewiring to handle the heavy refrigeration load, the expanded freezer space offering goods consumers desire. The new market has double the space of the former Country Foods; it has nine employees, one full time and eight part time.
Now that the Moville Market has been opened more than four months, Chet Davis said, “I think everyone who has been in the store has been very satisfied with the facility. They have been more than pleased the first time they walked into the store; it is bigger, brighter, and exceeds their expectations.”
Mallory said that the market is seeing out-of-town business, one of the hopes for the store, and also praises the community support for the project.
“From day one on this project, we always felt how strongly the public wanted the store; it was an important project for everyone in the community. Their support made us feel good throughout the 18-month project.”
Also new on the frontage road off Highway 20 is the engineering office for the Woodbury County Secondary Road Department, formerly housed in the Woodbury County Courthouse in downtown Sioux City. The move took place in October to the former Condon Auto Sales site for county engineer Mark Nahra and his team of 10 -- 7 who worked in the courthouse and 3 inspectors who worked out of Lawton.
With the price of the building at $275,000 plus facility renovations, the cost was approximately $500,000. The revamped building houses heavy equipment, in addition to a 50-year-old maintenance shed formerly slated for demolition.
The central Woodbury County location makes Moville, population 1,583, a good location for the office, near the many projects that involve road and bridge maintenance. “I think the move has worked out well for us so far,” said Nahra. “Myself and the maintenance supervisor have more direct contact with our staff. Also, the department is saving about $1500 per year that was spent on staff parking in the city.
Efficiency is the most important asset of the move for the Secondary Road Department. “Another of the bonuses for me,” Nahra said, “is if we have an issue on a project, I don’t have to give up more than half a day to get out to the site and back to the office.
“For the maintenance staff, there is a big difference in readiness, particularly in this winter. Our machines do not have to idle in the mornings, and time is hard on engines. That’s also a savings on fuel, not having to come in at 4:30 to warm up the machines for the day. We are not having the same level of wear and tear on the engines.”
In this winter of near record-level snow, the more centrally located equipment is a positive for area schools. “A two-hour late start gives us time for a one-time through on roads for the buses,” said Nahra.
Last fall, anticipating the engineering office for Woodbury County Secondary Roads moving to Moville, then-mayor Jim Fischer pointed to one positive for the community: that the local eateries would see added business from the county workers. “That does happen,” Nahra said, though about half the staff brown bags their lunch. “About five out of the office eats lunch out everyday, at Misty’s, Subway, or the A&W. And LuWe’s, the former Theo’s, gets our business once a week.”
On the other side of town, another fairly new business is Healy Welding, owned and operated by Chris Healy.
He purchased the old Farm Service fertilizer plant west of City Hall and cleaned up the area, “trying to make it look lots nicer,” said Healy. He also partially remodeled one building and is remodeling another for storage of paint, other materials, and equipment to have more fabrication area.
Business for Healy, who occasionally calls on family members for extra help, has been “very good. I have been staying real busy with lots of work for farmers, and some for the county and the town.” Healy is also satisfied with the location of the business.
“I could not find a better place,” he said. “I’m off the road and easy to get to.”
In the Moville downtown area, the Thompson, Phipps and Thompson Law Office, with other offices in Kingsley and Remsen, is renovating part of the former Moville Record building, for their use. The law office will include four offices, two conference rooms, a break room, file storage room, and lobby. The Thompson, Phipps, and Thompson Law Office will feature a glass exterior and will have solid walnut woodwork throughout.
Mallory said that for the Moville Community Development Association, Inc., “opportunities for the downtown are an ongoing priority for us. We strive to work with existing businesses and promote them in anyway we can. One of our focuses is sponsoring a small business owners’ seminar this spring to encourage them to work together and to work with MCDAI. The second focus for us for 2010 is to provide information to people who might want to start a new business, to help in any way we can with that effort.”
Mayor Nancy Countryman said the city has several goals for infrastructure regarding the downtown. One is upgrading in terms of sidewalks and resurfacing of Main Street from the fairgrounds to the downtown park.
“We will have hanging baskets with live plants,” Countryman said, “on the street lighting downtown. We also have a very active 4-H Club that is working on a project to put up banners downtown. All of this efforts will help with the sprucing up of our town.”
