The Parks and Recreation Committee of the Indianapolis–Marion County City-County Council on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, reappointed Larry Bates to the Board of Parks and Recreation, approved sending Director Phyllis Boyd’s reappointment to the full council for February approval and postponed a nomination to the Indianapolis Greenways Development Committee to the committee’s February meeting.

The actions came at a committee meeting chaired by Christa Carlino, where members briefly discussed department achievements and focused much of the substantive debate on whether parks maintenance functions that were shifted to the Department of Public Works should be moved back to Indy Parks.

The reappointment of Larry Bates to the Board of Parks and Recreation (Proposal 20) passed on a voice vote after Bates spoke about his longtime ties to the city’s parks and his motivation for service. Bates told the committee, “I came to serve, not to be served.” The committee then voted to reappoint Phyllis Boyd as director of the Department of Parks and Recreation (Proposal 19) and agreed to forward that reappointment to the full council for February approval; the chair announced the vote was unanimous. Proposal 21, to appoint Damon King to the Indianapolis Greenways Development Committee, was postponed to the committee’s February meeting at the chair’s request.

Committee members used Boyd’s reappointment discussion to highlight recent department work. Phyllis Boyd, director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, summarized 2024 accomplishments including the opening of the Frederick Douglass Park Family Center, a renovated Krannert Park Family Center, playground and court openings such as Bluff Park, free public Wi‑Fi installed at 27 park locations and expanded summer camp capacity. Boyd said, “Our Indy Parks team is really delivering for the city,” and noted the department earned CAPRA reaccreditation and completed AmeriCorps park beautification projects.

Members pressed staff and each other on the status of parks maintenance and related services moved to DPW. Councilor Josh Bain said he and other councilors believe maintenance should return to Indy Parks, noting parks “are suffering and the work’s just not getting done,” and asked Bates and Boyd about potential steps to restore maintenance under parks. Bates told the committee, “I would agree, that it needs to come back.” Council members said any transfer would require discussions with the Department of Public Works, the mayor’s office and AFSCME, and that funding and personnel changes would need to be worked out before implementation. Councilor Dan Boots said such a change should not take effect until 2026 to allow time to align dollars and personnel.

Boyd highlighted ongoing capital work and seasonal programming: remaining ARPA-funded playgrounds are scheduled to be completed in spring and summer 2025, the department is hiring summer staff with pay between $14 and $17 per hour and some family centers have been staffed to serve as warming centers during cold weather. She encouraged councilors to consult the department’s 2024 report on parks.indy.gov/2024 for more details.

Votes at a glance

- Proposal 20 — Reappointment of Larry Bates to the Board of Parks and Recreation: approved by committee (chair announced “the ayes have it”). Vote format: voice vote; roll-call counts not specified in the transcript.

- Proposal 21 — Appointment of Damon King to the Indianapolis Greenways Development Committee: postponed to February meeting on motion of the chair; no roll-call recorded.

- Proposal 19 — Reappointment of Phyllis Boyd as director, Department of Parks and Recreation: approved by committee; unanimous by voice vote; reappointment to be considered by the full council in February.

The committee meeting closed after the votes. The transcript records no public opposition to the three proposals during the committee session.