Action taken by the Natural Resources Commission on Thursday, Jan. 14th, will enable the completion of a visitor's center at Lewis and Clark State Park near Onawa in Monona County.

The project, started in 2003 but never completed due to financial problems, will now continue after the commission voted to award a contract to L&L Builders Co. of Sioux City, for $877,818. The construction is being financed through a combination of funding from federal grants and the state Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) fund.

During the same meeting, the Commission also voted to enter an agreement with Monona County specifying ownership of the building being shared between the county and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The agreement also assigns grant management responsibilities for the project to DNR.

"We are happy to finally have this project back underway with completion in sight. We believe this will be an asset to the state park and the Monona County area when it is finished," said DNR State Parks Bureau Chief Kevin Szcodronski.

Initially started in 2003, the structural portion and exterior of the building have already been completed. The work yet to be done includes finishing the interior and installing a parking lot. The design of the project was accomplished with particular attention to sustainability, handicapped accessibility and vandal resistance.

Once completed, the building will have interactive displays including replica keel boats as used by the historic Lewis and Clark expedition as well as housing some offices for DNR employees.

The project had been delayed due to the difficulty experienced by a local volunteer group to raise funds for the project. The DNR has requested and is awaiting an audit from the Auditor of the State's office reviewing some of the private fundraising that occurred relating to this project.

"For whatever reason, the local group had difficulty raising money for this project and we just want to make sure those efforts have been properly accounted for," said Szcodronski, adding that both the DNR and Monona County have been able to provide adequate documentation to the Auditor's office for their respective portions of the project.

The project is expected to be completed by late summer or early fall.