WARSAW — Kiddieland was built at Central Park next to the pavilion in 1986, but almost 40 years later a couple of new features have been added that the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department has never had before.

In an interview before a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent Larry Plummer said,

“This is our third set of playground equipment that we’ve had in this spot. It’s a climber. It’s the first poured-in-place surfacing that we’ve had in the park system. It’s an ADA-accessible material, and it’s the first ADA merry-go-round we’ve ever had in the park system. You can wheel a wheelchair right in and spin around.”

He said the playground equipment has a lot of climbing aspects to it, similar to the old piece of playground equipment that was there that was outdated.

“This (has) new features to it, and is just another good amenity to Kiddieland,” Plummer said.

The equipment replacement was part of the parks department’s five-year master plan.

“It was due for a replacement. It was 22 years old, I believe, so we try to get 20 years out of our playground and then replace it. Keep our standards up on our playgrounds,” he said.
As other pieces of playground equipment come up for replacement in the master plan down the road, Plummer said the new equipment and surfacing at Kiddieland could be a blueprint for those.

Twenty-some years ago, the parks department began their equipment replacement schedule at McKinley Park, Kerr Park, Beyer Park, Rarick Park and now Kiddieland.

The department is taking a year off replacing playground equipment in 2026 as there’s nothing 20 years old currently in the park system, Plummer said. The schedule starts all over again in 2027.

Funding for the playground equipment comes out of the parks department’s annual operating budget.

Installation of the new playground equipment at Kiddieland was all done in-house this past summer, except for the poured-in-place surfacing.

“We actually removed the old playground, and then once we received the new playground the crew started. It was all installed with in-house personnel. The only thing that was done by contractor was the poured-in-place, which we had never used before. We had done tiles that we had laid before, but the poured-in-place is a little different procedure. We saw how it was done, so maybe in the future we can do it ourself, but we wanted to see how it was done and how it holds up over the winters,” Plummer said.

Years ago, he said they were leery about the poured-in-place holding up with the freezes and thaws of winter, but now he thinks they have it refined enough to be a pretty good product.

“I’m just proud of my crew. It saved us a ton of funds being able to do this in-house and just very proud of my crew for all their hard work and effort,” Plummer said.

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WARSAW — Warsaw city officials will unveil the new Center Lake Recreational Trail in early December and those checking out the quarter-mile cement path that snakes along the lake’s shoreline will find several new amenities.

Visitors will find a continuous path that stretches from the Center Lake Plaza all the way east to Bixler Park and the new boat ramp near SR 15.

In between, they'll find a slightly wider and longer beach, four new lifeguard stations, room set aside for a beach volleyball net (next spring) on the east end of the beach and 14 cement pads for future park benches.

Also in store, perhaps next year, will be the installation of a new 90-foot pier that is replacing the old pump house west of the beach.

Much of the project was recently completed.

The $1 million recreational trail – funded with a donation from the Sasso family —  is the third major project completed this year at Center Lake Park. The others are the adjacent Zimmer Biomet Center Lake Pavilion and the nearby parks office.

Parks Superintendent Larry Plummer said it represents the biggest changes in the parks department since Central Park was completed 29 years ago.

“This is probably, in the 39 years I’ve been here, as far as projects happening boom, boom, boom, this is probably the biggest year I’ve seen,” Plummer said.

While the parks board has some other smaller projects in the future they've reached a major milestone.

"As far as the infrastructure, I think we’re in a good place here –  once we get the piers in.” Plummer said.

The trail helps connect many of the existing amenities and adds a sense of flow, Plummer said. Kiddieland, the new pickleball courts and basketball courts — all east of the pavilion — are now more easily accessible.

The city previously had two guard stands, but added two because it represents the number of guards normally on duty at the same time, Plummer said.

Much of the entire area is now more easily accessible for the disabled, Plummer said.

Plummer said they continue to look at ways to connect Center Lake Park with Pike Lake Park, which sits to the east of SR 15. City officials at one point looked at the idea of a skywalk over the state highway, but determined it was not workable.

Plummer said conversations about that project are on-going.

He said it’s all part of linking city attractions

"It’s not cheap doing trails and connectivity, but it’s a little piece of the puzzle at a time,” he said. “Someday we’ll get there.”

Some work still needs to be done.

The city hopes to remove the old, crumbling pier at Center Lake near the pavilion next year after further research determined it will cost less then earlier expected.

The new 90-foot pier that encompasses part of the old the pump house to the west will accommodate both boaters and fishing enthusiasts.

Both pier projects are dependent upon finding new sources of money to cover the costs.

Plummer said they also want to construct a fishing pier by the boat ramp.

Plummer said the park board will have to address controlling bicycle traffic along trail to ensure safety.

The city will host a ribbon cutting ceremony for the trail on Dec. 11.

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