Park-Rec officials say moving the softball diamond would cost the city $600,000

An architect's drawing of the proposed green space for a new elementary school

The Decorah Community School District has offered the City of Decorah $700,000 for the softball diamond property in downtown Decorah, hoping to use the property as the site for a new elementary school.

That's a lot of money, but Decorah Parks and Recreation Department Director Andy Nimrod says the $700,000 wouldn't cover the costs of a new softball diamond facility.  Nimrod told members of the Decorah Park-Rec Board he'd recommend building at least new two softball diamonds so the facilities would be in the same location and not in two different locations.  A consultant has told Nimrod it would probably cost $1 million to build the softball complex.  Nimrod says it would cost another $300,000 to buy land for the softball complex.

That means a new softball diamond complex would cost the Decorah School District $700,000 and the Decorah Park-Rec Department $600,000.  "We're losing money," noted Park Board member Jeff O'Gara.  That led fellow Park Board member Shirley Vermace to suggest that the Decorah School District tear up its baseball and softball diamonds near Decorah City Hall and build the new elementary school on school district-owned property.