The draft of the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department’s five-year master plan is complete and has been sent to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Pat Brown, president of Sitescapes Inc., Mishawaka, who has helped the Parks Department compile the plan, said he received confirmation that the DNR received it and it was sixth in line for review.
“It’s in DNR review right now,” he said.
City Councilwoman Diane Quance suggested the draft be put on BoardPaq for each of the Park Board members to review it at their leisure, and Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer said it was a big file but he would try and get that done.
Brown said the goal was to have the final draft completed by mid-February. Another public hearing would then have to be held at the February Park Board meeting, as required by the DNR.
“So right now, we’re just in like a 30-day public review period,”?Brown said.
No action was needed or taken.
Recreation Director Sheila Wieringa gave her monthly activities report, including the 2017 proposed event dates and fees. The board approved those as requested.
Some of the 2017 programs include the Blues & BBQ, July 7; country concert, July 21; rock concert, June 16; Fall Family Fun, Oct. 13; Family Carnival, Aug. 4; family movie nights on June 10, July 15 and Aug. 12; Light Up the Night on Dec. 1; and Zoo Bash, July 24.
She said the Light Up the Night event Dec. 2, 2016, had a great turnout, but the Christmas Countdown Dec. 9 had a smaller turnout than previously. She said this year, she was going to try and mix it up and combine the two events.
The Feb. 10 Daddy-Daughter Dance sold out in 3-1/2 days, she reported.
Maintenance Director Shaun Gardner reported all the Christmas lights have been taken down in Central Park.
The concession trailer at the light display did well, raising $1,800 for this year’s Christmas light display, he said.
“A lot of people helped to make that happen. McDonald’s provides the cookies and cups, so we’ve got to thank them. Walmart provides the hot chocolate. And Young Tiger Football provides the staff, all the volunteers selling everything out there. It really goes a long way and it’s kind of nice to get everybody together to make that happen,” Gardner stated. “We’re thankful we can do it every year.”
Park employees are in the middle of refurbishing all the picnic tables. There are about 300 big tables and 150 smaller ones that have to be sanded down and re-stained every year. Gardner said they’re half way through them.
A big tree fell in Beyer Park last week, he said. It was a cottonwood that fell on the ice and there’s still some of it on the ice.
Park Board member Bill Baldwin thanked Gardner and his workers for the “absolutely fantastic job they did at the park this year.”
In other business:
• The board approved the annual property lease agreement with the Kosciusko County Council on Aging and Aged Inc.
Plummer proposed the lease stay the same as it has been over the past.
“Part of the offset to the lease was the $26,000 that comes from the Wayne Township agreement, so that kind of offsets the expenditures of the (Pete Thorn Youth Center) building so we pretty much break even with the building the way it is right now with that $26,000 coming from Wayne Township,” Plummer explained.
• Mayor Joe Thallemer gave the oath of office to Board President Steve Haines and member Bill Baldwin.
• Haines was re-elected as president, with Larry Ladd re-elected vice president.
• Plummer confirmed the Park Board meetings will be held at the Pete Thorn Youth Center, 800 N. Park Ave., from now on, instead of the Fireman’s Building at Pike Lake, because the Center gets good WiFi.
