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Porter County Parks unveils capital campaign for Sunset Hill nature center and South County Park
Summary
Porter County Parks presented plans for a Nature and Event Center at Sunset Hill Farm Park and a South County Park with athletic fields and trails, citing program demand, camp wait lists and initial fundraising steps including naming-rights conversations.
Porter County Parks on Monday outlined a capital campaign to build a Nature and Event Center at Sunset Hill Farm Park and develop a South County Park north of Chesterton.
Jake, a parks presenter, told the council the Nature and Event Center would “expand our programming offerings as well as create a big event space” and be open seven days as a public nature center. He said the facility is planned near the gazebo at Sunset Hill and designed to hold “three to 400 people,” allowing the parks system to host larger events and generate revenue to sustain programming.
The presenter said demand drove the proposal: Camp Funset enrolled 856 children this season and the parks still maintain a wait list “of about 200 kids,” a signal, he said, that existing facilities and spaces are over capacity. “It always stinks to have to turn away people to such an incredible program,” he said.
Parks staff described an early-stage capital campaign launched last August in collaboration with the parks foundation and park board and named initial committee members, including park board president Brian Weisen and local supporters. Fundraising avenues under discussion include private donations, grants, sponsorships and naming rights for facilities.
On the South County Park, presenters said the long-standing plan remains sports-focused — soccer, softball, baseball and travel teams — coupled with a walking trail of more than a mile, playgrounds, pickleball courts, dog parks and rentable pavilions. The parks team argued those amenities would keep recreation spending in Porter County while drawing participants from surrounding areas.
Council members praised the presentation and approved no formal appropriation at this meeting for the parks plan; presenters said they will return with funding plans and specific requests as the capital campaign progresses.
The parks presentation ran in the meeting’s early agenda and was followed by routine budget and departmental business.
