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Parks board weighs resetting five-year master plan as SB1 and budget cuts pinch priorities
Summary
Board members urged trimming or reprioritizing the five-year parks master plan after staff said the parks budget lost about $314,000 for 2026 and several items remain deferred; members asked for a concise deferred-maintenance spreadsheet to inform 2027 budgeting.
Town of Zionsville Parks Board members opened a broad discussion about the five-year master plan and how recent financial constraints should shape priorities going forward. Board members said the plan had grown ambitious and recommended a refresh or a shorter planning horizon to reflect new funding realities.
Staff outlined that the five-year master plan was required by the Department of Natural Resources for certain grants and had been developed using national level-of-service benchmarks, public open houses and online surveys. Jared told the board the 2026 budget lost approximately $314,000 in improvement funding, a change he attributed to impacts from SB1-related state legislation and other fiscal pressures, and that the parks' deferred-maintenance line was effectively zeroed out for 2026.
Board members framed the problem as a need for transparency and prioritization. One said the board should show residents "here's what we wanted to do, here's what we did, and here's why" and suggested a one- to three-year narrower action plan rather than a broad five-year wishlist. Another urged staff to prepare a single spreadsheet listing deferred-maintenance items so the board can prioritize and identify funding strategies for the 2027 budget.
Staff described how the master plan has guided capital work and life-cycle maintenance: some high-cost items were completed (such as Carpenter land acquisition and phase-one construction) while many smaller items remain on a long list. Board members discussed using donor partnerships, event revenue and careful messaging to the public to explain trade-offs.
The board did not take a binding vote to rewrite the master plan at the meeting but directed staff to provide prioritized deferred-maintenance materials for future budget discussions and the upcoming budget build for 2027.
