Mountain Grove makes firepit area on square

Since a fire burned down multiple buildings in July of 2021 on the square in Mountain Grove, not a lot of work had been done to the property.
That all changed this month as the City of Mountain Grove worked to excavate the area to clean up a very visible part of the square to give it new life.
Mountain Grove’s City Administrator Dakota Bates said a lot of dirt was hauled in to back fill the lot.
The vision is to have five firepit areas with log seating in place for this year’s Winterfest event scheduled for Friday-Saturday, Dec. 5-6.
Surrounding the area is a pipe fence, thanks to the support of L&R Industries, that adds to the safety and visual presentation of the property.
City Administrator Dakota Bates said the effort to clean the lot up was to make the area look good while providing a nice place to come and sit during Winterfest to warm up.
“We just want to give something to the community they could be proud of on our square (in this area where the fire was),” Bates noted. “...I’m big on being neat and tidy and making things look good.”
Bates said the now opened up area provides a good feeling to that part of the square.
The work done may also entice potential businesses who may be interested to build on the location in the future.