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Muncie board agrees to allow individual lease extensions through May 3 for Prairie Creek winter storage after residents’ pleas
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Summary
After emotional public testimony about the sudden Prairie Creek campground closure and practical concerns about winter moving and storage costs, the board approved a process for case-by-case, no-fee lease extensions through end of day May 3; legal staff will prepare individual extension documents and report back in January.
Residents and park users urged the Muncie Park and Recreation Board on Dec. 16 to give campers more time to remove trailers and equipment after the recent announcement that Prairie Creek campground operations would be paused. The board responded by approving a motion to permit individual, no-fee lease extensions through the end of day Sunday, May 3, 2026, with legal staff preparing the required documents.
Charlene Moore, president of Friends of Prairie Creek, described the closure as a surprise and told the board campers—many elderly—had already paid for winter storage and now face higher storage and hauling costs elsewhere. "A lot of them places were full," Moore said, adding that some storage providers had raised rates and that moving campers in winter conditions could be unsafe or impossible for many residents.
Misty, assistant superintendent for City of Muncie Parks and Prairie Creek Reservoir, reported operations challenges: staffing shortages at the Prairie Creek office, limited gate schedules, dock and pier inventories (about 15 wooden piers and roughly 12 floating piers remaining), boat repair work still underway, and winterization steps such as campground electricity being turned back on to allow tenants to retrieve belongings. She also listed grant opportunities the department is considering, including programs from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the Indiana DNR division of fish and wildlife, and the U.S. EPA.
Board members raised questions about who is leading the overall visioning and construction planning for the reservoir; the chair said the effort is currently under the mayor and his team, with the city engineer and external contractors expected to be involved. On the legal side, the chair reported preliminary review conversations with legal staff and described the extension mechanism the office will use: tenants who need additional time will sign written lease extensions with the same terms and no additional fee.
A motion to extend the contracted move-out date was made and later amended on the floor to set the deadline at the end of day Sunday, May 3, with no extra charge. The board voted in favor of allowing those individual extensions and directed legal staff to prepare the extension documents and provide an update at the January meeting.
The board also heard public criticism of the administration’s process for deciding to close the campground. During public input, Christopher Milbury urged greater transparency and said residents felt decisions were being made behind closed doors.
