Lincolnwood Park master plan draws more than 70 public comments; council to schedule input sessions

Amber Lane, property authority for the Town of Brownsburg, told the Town Council on May 8 that staff had logged 77 public comments on the Lincolnwood Park Master Plan and had roughly 25 additional comments still in a processing queue.

Lane said of the 77 logged comments, 51 were from Brownsburg residents and 23 were from nonresidents; among residents she reported 33 positive and 18 negative sentiments. Supporters frequently named the amphitheater and an indoor recreation center as desired features, and many framed the plan as a long-term quality-of-life investment. Opponents commonly cited the project's cost and potential tax increases, naming a figure of $92,000,000 in public comments and expressing concern about taking on debt and ongoing maintenance costs.

"So far, I do have a staff member who's processing all the public comments and logging them as of about an hour ago: 77 logged comments and she still has about 25 in the queue to put in," Lane said. "There was a lot of great community feedback... support for specific features, such as the amphitheater and indoor recreation center, were frequently mentioned."

At public comment, resident David Wyant thanked staff for the level of detail in the summary and said he had expected only a basic tally. "I was just looking for thumbs up, thumbs down, and oddballs. And there's much greater detail on that summary that she provided you," Wyant said.

Council members discussed holding public input sessions while staff completes the public-comment log. A council speaker identified in the record as Council President said the town would look at staffing for public sessions and asked for volunteers to assist; no date was set at the meeting. Lane said she planned to produce a fuller report as the 30-day public comment period continues.

The Lincolnwood Park Master Plan is now in an open 30-day public comment period; Lane asked the council to consider public meetings to gather additional input and to provide the community with a snapshot of comments collected to date.

Clarifying details reported at the meeting include: 77 comments logged as of the report, roughly 25 comments remaining in the intake queue, 51 comments identified as from residents (33 positive, 18 negative), and 23 from nonresidents (about 13 positive, 10 negative as reported). A dollar figure of $92,000,000 was mentioned in several public comments as a perceived project cost; the town did not present a consolidated total project budget at the May 8 meeting.

The council did not take formal action on the plan at the May 8 meeting; staff was directed to continue compiling comments and to plan public input sessions.