The Evansville Parks Board of Commissioners voted on Wednesday to approve the resolutions needed to issue a $24 million parks bond after a public hearing that included multiple speakers urging both maintenance of existing parks and caution about new, costly projects.

Members approved a confirmatory resolution, the bond resolution authorizing sale of the bonds and an appropriation resolution directing proceeds to listed projects. Roll-call votes on each resolution carried by a 3-2 margin.

The vote follows more than an hour of public comment in which downtown business representatives and neighborhood residents urged different priorities. A representative of the Downtown Evansville Economic Improvement District, recorded in the meeting transcript with two variant name entries (‘Adam Trinkle’ and later ‘Adam Bridal’), said the proposed park at Fourth and Main would help activate a new 160-unit housing development and called for moving forward on city parks. "We envision the park to be a hub for programming with events and activities that will increase consumer footfall," the speaker said.

Several residents urged the board to prioritize keeping existing parks in good repair. "We have concrete that is over a 100 years old that is crumbling," said Stephanie Gibson, who identified herself as representing Bellemeade Beard Park and urged attention to maintenance rather than concentrating only on new projects. Another resident, Ken Colbert, criticized the bond package and used strong language to describe government spending, saying government spending had become "government money laundering" and objecting to what he characterized as spending on special-interest projects.

Board members spent much of their discussion debating the size of the bond and whether the list of projects was sufficiently specific. Jerome, a 20-year board appointee, argued that removing the giraffe-breeding barn (an item he and others said had been taken off the bond earlier) reduced the $24 million request to $14 million and moved to set a $14,000,000 cap. Jerome emphasized the need for fixed, written project descriptions, saying he "can't approve something when I don't know what I am approving."

Staff and other board members countered that the bond proceeds must be applied only to projects listed in the public notice and that reallocated funds (for example, the $10 million removed for the giraffe barn) would allow additions such as safety surfacing, restroom replacement, walking path work and irrigation replacement. Board members and staff outlined specific uses the additional funds could cover, including playground safety surfacing, restroom updates at Wesselman Park, irrigation system replacement on golf courses, aquatics improvements and veterinary building work at the zoo.

After debate, a motion to proceed with the original $24,000,000 total was made and seconded; roll calls recorded split votes (three in favor, two opposed) and the confirmatory resolution was approved. The board then approved the bond issuance and the appropriation resolution by the same 3-2 margins. The meeting transcript shows an initial misstatement of the margin (announced as "3 to 1") that staff corrected on the record to "3 to 2." The record on the bond matters was then closed.

Earlier in the meeting the board approved routine consent-agenda items including reimbursement for Fulton Park playground equipment, a Girl Scout request to install a Little Free Library in Stoplight City Park, donations of single-use facility passes for a YMCA fundraising auction, amendments to the Wesselman Woods master plan, and permission to remove a dilapidated storage building at a park entrance. Staff also reported a single sealed quote of $81,250 from Superior Asphalt for repaving the Howell Pool parking lot; that procurement will proceed through purchasing compliance.

The board was clear in responding to public concern that the $10 million giraffe-breeding barn had been removed from the current bond package "a couple of weeks ago," though several speakers continued to question overall priorities and the timing of a midday hearing that limited some residents' ability to attend. Staff noted an increase in neighborhood park maintenance funding for 2025 from $100,000 to $200,000 as part of administration commitments.

The board adjourned after closing the record on the bond items. Next steps include completing the legal steps to sell the approved bonds and returning to the board for project-level approvals as individual projects go to bid.