Morgan County forms new park board; members, duties and next steps outlined

Commissioner Brian Collier opened the Oct. 20, 2025, meeting to formally convene a newly formed Morgan County Park Board and introduce five appointed members, county attorneys and staff.

The meeting laid out immediate administrative tasks for the board: adopting staggered terms, choosing officers, scheduling regular meetings, public-noticing requirements, and beginning the process to hire a parks director. County Attorney Ann Cowder advised the group to review statutory duties before acting.

The new board members introduced themselves: Bethany Latham and Becky McKinney (both identified as local residents), Trisha Runigan (representing the health department), Jason Whitlow (resident), and Daryl French (Morgan County History Museum; tinsmith). Commissioners present included Brian Collier, Don Adams and Kenny Hale. Ann Cowder attended as county attorney; Felida was identified as an assistant parks director and an interim contact for park operations.

“The powers and duties first and foremost just to understand what you are responsible for and what you're able to do,” County Attorney Ann Cowder said, directing members to statutory sections laying out board authority and quorum requirements.

Commissioners gave a brief overview of the county’s park inventory and recent investments. Parks and properties discussed included Brookhurst Creek; Waverly Park; Wilbur Community School (listed on the national register and given the address 6025 Wilbur Road); and several trail segments, including the Landersdale Trail. Collier said the county invested about $3,350,000 in tuckpointing, a new roof and related work at the schoolhouse property. Commissioners and staff said roughly 9.5–10 miles of trails are completed and that planning documents (KML and PDF maps) show 27–30 miles under consideration.

Officials described waterway and recreation use along the White River and at Henderson Ford, noting higher canoe and kayak traffic since removal of a low-head dam. Commissioner remarks underscored opportunities and maintenance demands from increased out-of-county visitors, and the potential for volunteer groups and “friends of the park” programs.

Commissioner Hale outlined pending land parcels and federal reuse approvals: the county has submitted a FEMA reuse-permit request for the Willowbrook property and reported that, countywide, 16 of 18 local reuse requests had been approved in Region 5 while Region 5 had approved 23 reuse permits in total across states. Several properties carry deed restrictions tied to Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) or FEMA requirements, which could limit certain uses.

On administration and operations, staff and commissioners said: regular meetings must be publicly noticed and the board must meet at least quarterly under statute; a majority constitutes a quorum; meetings held in the county commissioners’ meeting room are recorded and streamed; recordation requirements vary by location. A county staff member described claim and payment procedures: park-related claims go through the auditor’s office with a typical monthly claim deadline around midmonth (by the 15th) and require two commissioners' signatures for routine payments.

Human-resources staff said the parks director position was budgeted for the year and likely would be one of the board’s first hiring tasks. “One of your first jobs will probably be to advertise for the parks director. I can send the job description ... I am the one that would post it,” an HR representative said, offering to post the job and provide resumes to board members as appropriate. Staff cautioned that the director would be a county employee subject to county personnel policies and that the board should try to present unified direction to avoid pulling a director in conflicting directions.

Board compensation and payment methods were discussed: members who are county employees would be paid through payroll while others could receive nonemployee compensation (1099) or be paid by claim; commissioners said the parks budget would cover modest member stipends if authorized.

Formal actions taken during the meeting were limited and procedural. Commissioner Hale moved to approve minutes from a June 2, 2025 meeting; the motion carried by voice vote with no opposition voiced. At the meeting’s close an adjournment motion passed by voice vote.

Members agreed to a regular meeting cadence: the board selected the third Monday of each month and planned to meet at the Morgan County History Museum (Waverly) at 4:30 p.m. for the next meeting. Staff said Deb (county staff) would help with public notices, and Felida or the park director contact would handle incoming public correspondence and claims.

Commissioners encouraged the board to use existing county web pages to post minutes and materials; staff noted that a county-hosted web presence would be preferable to the parks’ current external site. Equipment and operations notes included availability of two hot spots at Brookhurst and Waverly, possible county-provided laptop support for a secretary role, and a county Lowe’s credit card that can be used for park purchases.

The meeting ended after routine closing items and the board was scheduled to reconvene to address officer elections, the parks director recruitment and concrete next steps for trail and facilities maintenance.

For transparency: this article summarizes what was spoken at the public meeting; where specific vote tallies or named seconders were not stated in the transcript, the article notes outcomes as recorded (voice votes, no dissent voiced).