Council hears detailed concepts for three Marion neighborhood parks; public open house to shape final plans

City staff and consultants presented draft master‑plan concepts Thursday for three neighborhood parks in Marion — Lucore Park, Waterland Park and Willow Park — and told the City Council they will refine designs and phasing after two weeks of public comment and an open house held the same evening.

Scott Crawford, project lead with RDG Planning & Design, said the city began the planning process in November and has held public open houses and steering‑committee meetings. “We started with inventory analysis and initial goal setting,” Crawford told the council, and the team will use public feedback to “refine that into the final concept and start working through the implementation approach” for each park.

Key elements of the draft concepts: - Lucore Park: reuse of existing farm structures (silo and corn crib), interpretive elements marking former barn foundations, a half‑mile and quarter‑mile trail loop, eight pickleball courts, open‑air shelters, restrooms, parking at the northwest corner shared with a planned maintenance facility and a future water‑tower site, native plantings on steeper slopes and a large multipurpose lawn. - Waterland Park: roughly 8 acres planned for park development within a larger 9–11‑acre property, coordinated adjacency with a proposed elementary school, park drive and off‑street parking, play area, splash feature, shared basketball/futsal court, and restored prairie plantings on the east side; the plan envisions connections to neighborhood greenways and a potential regional stormwater detention feature serving about 600 acres. - Willow Park: master planning driven by the future Abernett (Auburnett) Road extension through the park; concepts include active recreation east of the new road (shared court, playground, shelters), passive recreation west of the road (trails and open space), a proposed reconstructed wetland and an elevated wetland overlook or boardwalk, an underpass beneath the future bridge, a trail link to the Indian Creek Trail and a beginner pump track.

Council members asked clarifying questions about the water‑tower location at Lucore and whether trails might conflict with elevated structures, the lack of ball fields in the designs (project staff said neighborhood feedback did not show a strong demand and noted topography and old‑landfill conditions limiting field viability), and how the city will phase work. Crawford said phasing and cost estimates will be developed after collecting public input; staff plans to return to council in June with refined master plans and anticipated implementation costs.

Seth, the city project manager, and Crawford said prairie plantings and smaller initial phases could be implemented earlier at Lucore while larger components—playgrounds, pickleball courts, parking—would be phased as development and funding allow. RDG will also publish the online engagement updates via SocialPinpoint and incorporate responses received over the next two weeks.

No formal council action was taken; the presentation and open‑house feedback will guide the next design and budgeting steps.