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Parks master plan near final stage; six playgrounds and Walker Park upgrades scheduled before summer
Summary
Parks staff said the master plan is nearing completion with a public meeting April 9 and submission to IDNR on April 15; six playgrounds, a fitness zone and restrooms are slated to be completed before June or July.
Park staff told the Elkhart Parks and Recreation Board the department is in the final phase of its master plan work and moving several capital projects toward summer completion.
Park Superintendent Jamieson briefed the board that the department expects six playgrounds and a fitness zone at Walker Park, plus restroom improvements, to be installed “ideally before June 1” and that some work (notably Gans Park) may extend into July. He said the department is planning celebrations, including a foundation event at Walker Park on June 7 to mark the year’s improvements.
Special projects manager Matthew Moyers said the submission copy of the master plan will go to the IDNR on April 15 and the department will hold a public meeting on April 9 to present a “here’s what we thought we heard” draft. Moyers said the public survey was approaching roughly 200 responses and the department was aiming for a higher confidence level on the statistically valid survey sample.
Moyers described the department’s “Our Parks” outreach as a continuing program of neighborhood engagement, and he said the capital improvements plan will inform naming-rights conversations the parks foundation is pursuing. He said a land-use and encroachment policy is also under development to guide potential parkland donations, sales or exchanges.
No board vote on the master plan or capital appropriations was recorded in the transcript; Moyers said the department expects park-board final approval after IDNR review, likely in May or June.
