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Vigo County Parks superintendent outlines Griffin Bike Park building, disc golf projects and other park upgrades
Summary
Adam Grossman, Vigo County Parks superintendent, briefed the council on numerous park projects including a new Griffin Bike Park building, two disc-golf courses funded by a private donation, a Dewey Point overlook funded by ARPA, rental cabins and trail connections at Bicentennial Park.
Adam Grossman, superintendent of Vigo County Parks, told the council the parks department has multiple projects underway, highlighted near-term maintenance and capital work, and flagged an upcoming out-of-series budget transfer to cover machine repair.
Grossman said a skid-steer broke earlier in the year and the department plans an out-of-series transfer from new equipment to equipment repair rather than buying one fewer Kubota to cover costs for the fiscal year. He described several capital projects: an overlook at Dewey Point funded through ARPA (awaiting state permits), the acquisition of AMVETS property at Bicentennial Park (closed with ownership transferring in July), a new shelter, a new trail connection to the Wabashiki Trail, and replacement roads at Fowler Park and Hawthorne Park.
Grossman described Griffin Bike Park as the department’s most impactful near-term project: dirt work started at the site and contractors are expected to mobilize. Donations and change orders have reduced costs; the new building will provide storage, operational space, space for youth programming and vendor lease revenue. He said the department secured donations and support from the health department and commissioners to deliver the building and programming. Grossman also said two new disc-golf courses are coming to the county: a donor provided $120,000 toward a Prairie Creek course, and Fowler Park is in design with an expected major draw of visitors once complete.
Other improvements listed included new rental cabins and a rental wagon at Fowler Park, a self-rent kiosk at Hawthorne Park for kayak rentals, accessible pathways and a new playground aimed at ages 2–5. Grossman noted strong public interest in the parks: a pancake breakfast drew roughly 430 attendees and the county’s maple-syrup operation sells out quickly; he said the department made another 12 gallons of syrup the same day as the meeting.
Ending Grossman asked council members to contact him to arrange tours of parks and ongoing projects. Council members thanked him for the update.
