Kosciusko County parks board approves Greenway/Blueway trail master plan and design documents

The Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board voted to approve the Greenway/Blueway trail master plan and associated design documents and will ask county commissioners to consider formal adoption.

Katie (staff member) said the plan commission viewed the document favorably and recommended the commissioners review and approve it first. "The plan commission kind of viewed the document favorably. They, I think they support what, the effort was and what's in there, but they suggested that the commissioners review it and approve it first," Katie said.

The master plan and the design documents were described in the meeting as a near-final set of materials that had been revised following steering-committee edits. A board member moved to approve both the design documents and the master plan; another board member seconded the motion. "Ayes have it. The motion is carried," the board chair announced after the vote.

Board members and staff discussed next steps: if commissioners endorse the board's recommendation, the plan would return to the area plan commission as a proposed appendix to the county comprehensive plan. A staff member noted the area plan commission expected to consider appending the trail master plan at their first Wednesday meeting in April and encouraged board members to attend.

The board also asked staff to provide an executive summary and a OneDrive link with the three final documents (the full master plan, a shortened executive summary, and the design guidelines) to make review easier for committee members and commissioners.

No budget appropriation or construction authorization was made at the meeting; members framed the vote as approval of the documents and a recommendation to the commissioners for formal adoption.

The board said it will present the approved materials to the county commissioners at their next meeting so the commissioners can take up formal adoption at that body’s schedule.