Parks board approves Bloom and Lure foundation spending and authorizes $70,000 USDA grant application for Hunt Lake

The LaPorte County Parks and Recreation Board on June 2 approved a package of foundation-funded projects for Bloom and Lure and voted to authorize submission of a $70,000 United States Department of Agriculture Rural Business Development Grant application to support site-readiness work at Hunt Lake.

Board members approved the Bloom foundation package, presented as totaling $45,100, to cover continued invasive-plant treatment, trail signage, a $2,500 in-house restroom roof repair, a $12,000 contractor roof replacement for the maintenance building, a planned prescribed burn (about $2,600) and development of a pond observation deck to improve maintenance access and public viewing. The Lure package, approved the same night, totaled about $15,000 and included invasive-removal work ($10,000) and $5,000 toward architectural design for proposed nature-center improvements; board members agreed any additional nature-center costs will be determined at a future meeting.

On a separate motion, the board authorized staff to submit a USDA Rural Business Development Grant application for $70,000 to support Hunt Lake site-readiness work and designated Superintendent Jeremy as the authorized signatory for the application. The resolution was read by title and approved by the board.

Motions on these items were moved and seconded during the meeting; the transcript records the board approving each item but does not provide a recorded roll-call vote tally in the minutes. The board also approved routine procedural items during the session, including the amended agenda, minutes and the financial report.

Next procedural step: staff will proceed with the USDA application process, and additional nature-center budget requests were deferred until staff can provide cost estimates.