It won’t be too long before festivities are once again held at the Red Barn at Larry G. Crites Memorial Park in Festus.
The Festus City Council voted 7-0 June 24 to award a $434,000 contract to Hankins Construction in St. Louis to renovate the building and demolish a silo that stands next to the barn. Board member Bobby Venz was absent from the meeting.
Hankins Construction submitted the lowest of four bids for the project at Crites park along Old Hwy. A on the western side of Festus.
For years, the city used the Red Barn for recreational events, like the Seniors in the Park luncheon during Twin City Days, but at some point structural concerns put an end to those activities, and in recent years, the large building has been used for storage.
City officials said they weren’t sure exactly how long ago they stopped using the Red Barn for recreational activities, but Greg Camp said he has been the city administrator for seven years and it has not been used during that time.
He estimated it has been about 10 years since it was open for events.
“This project is mainly to get the building sound,” Camp said. “We’ll have events there again. We’ll rent it. It has a capacity of 75.”
Along with the reinforcement of the building, the project will include other improvements.
“We’ll need it to be fully ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible,” Camp said. “The building has to have a sprinkler system throughout the building. They’ll build a new deck on the outside. New lighting. They’ll also demolish the silo next to it that’s been determined to be unsafe.”
He said a target for the project’s completion has not yet been set.
“We’re hoping it will be completed by the first of November,” he said.
Funds for the project were included in the current budget, which was approved last year.
The FY24 budget, which began Oct. 1, 2023, and runs through Sept. 30, also includes $1.5 million to construct a water splash area and an all-inclusive playground on the southern portion of Crites Park, next to the existing ballfields.
City officials expect the water play area, called The Splash Pad at Turtle Cove, to open in the spring or summer of 2025. The council awarded an $818,916 contract for the project to the team of Aquatix, Nu Toys and Capri Pools to design and build the splash area.
The city has not sought bids for the all-inclusive playground project yet.