Parks director outlines summer programming; teen internship reduced to 50 participants

Parks staff told the Muncie Park and Recreation Board on April 21 that summer programming is taking shape but the department reduced the Muncie Teen Internship Program this year from about 100 participants to roughly 50 because of budget limits and a desire to fund other summer activities.

Mark Ervin, presenting the programming report, said interviews are complete and sites have been confirmed with partners including Jason Haney, the YMCA, YWCA, Second Harvest, Lexi Gardens and Muncie Northside. He said the department has already contacted parents of selected interns.

"We only selected 50. And doing that is because, um, some of the budget things going on, so we don't have the funds to be able to fund 100," Mark said, explaining the cutback was necessary to preserve funds for other summer offerings.

Mark also described outreach to Crystal Thomas, director of transportation at MITS, to coordinate transit from Northside to other sites once placements are final.

He outlined a slate of family and youth events, including a National Kids to the Park day on May 16 at Westside Park, a basketball kickoff for grades 4–12 and a youth basketball league to be run in partnership with Zion Strong.

Mark said he has begun coordinating with community partners for sports clinics and Friday night high‑school baseball showcase games and that the park department is exploring ways to run some activities budget‑neutrally when possible.

The board thanked staff for the outreach and asked staff to introduce selected interns and their parents at the May meeting so the board can welcome them to the program.