Pavilions’ construction well underway in empty Polo lot

POLO – Work on erecting two pavilions in a city-owned lot near downtown Polo is underway, with one of the structures expected to be mostly complete this week.

The two 24-foot-by-34-foot steel pavilions are being built at 212 S. Division Ave., a lot next to the Shell gas station where Polo’s farmers market is held.

Construction started a couple of weeks ago with carving holes, pouring cement and otherwise preparing for the installation, Alderman Randy Schoon said.

“It’s been all volunteer work so far,” he said of the construction. “It has not cost us a red cent in labor for anything. I really hope this Friday, at the end of the day, the framing for one of them is standing there.”

The pavilions themselves cost $117,304, a purchase price that was approved by Polo City Council members on a 4-2 vote at their Dec. 4, 2023, meeting. Schoon and Aldermen Jim Busser, Tommy Bardell and Keith Chesnut voted to approve the purchase, while Aldermen Joey Kochsmeier and Larry Weaver voted against it.

It was a $57,960 reduction in cost from the original cost of the pavilions – $175,264 – that was approved by the City Council on Aug. 21, 2023, on a 3-2 vote. Busser, Bardell and Chesnut voted in favor, while Kochsmeier and Weaver voted no. Schoon was not at that meeting.

The savings came when the city eliminated polycarbonate side panels from the design, Schoon said.

“They wanted $60,000 to put basically Plexiglas down the side of it,” he said. “If you think about it, you’re out in the elements anyway, so what does that do for you? We opted to not do that, and it saved us a ton of money.”

Funds for the project are coming from Polo’s Business Development District No. 1, Schoon said.

Polo’s BDD No. 1 was created Aug. 15, 2022, on a 5-1 vote by City Council members. It encompasses downtown and some surrounding blocks, as well as the length of Division Avenue.

Within the BDD, an additional 0.5% sales tax is collected on most goods, according to the ordinance that established it. Things such as medications, medical appliances, food meant to be eaten off the premises where it was sold, and titled purchases – a car or boat, for example – are not subject to the additional tax.

According to a brochure by Jacob & Klein and the Economic Development Group – which helped Polo establish BDD No. 1 – BDD funds commonly are used to help fund plans and studies, land acquisitions, site preparation, public infrastructure, renovations to existing buildings, construction of new buildings, reduced financing costs and relocation costs.

“We said, ‘How can we come out of the gate and show people what we can do within the community?’” Schoon said of the reason for installing the pavilions using BDD funds. “I really think, once we get it all up, it’s going to be a huge success.”