Sellersburg Parks Board previews Aug. 1 'Pooch Plunge', discusses park-use agreement and forwards two applicants to council

At its July 14 meeting, the Town of Sellersburg Parks Board reviewed plans for the Dog Days of Summer ‘‘Pooch Plunge,’’ discussed a draft park-use agreement to govern privately produced events on public land, and agreed to forward two applicants for a parks-board vacancy to the Town Council.

President Amy Campbell said the Pooch Plunge is scheduled for Aug. 1 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with about 15 vendors and roughly 10 adoptable dogs; she told members the event is already being advertised on the Town of Sellersburg page and that organizers are sharing promotion on their own social media.

Town Manager Charlie Smith described a first draft of a park event agreement he prepared, saying it is largely a release-of-liability form ‘‘for use of the park’’ that lets the board review and negotiate agreements for privately produced events on public space. "All this is is an agreement in place for specific events that you all can... choose to approve or not approve for certain things," he said, and suggested creating a standard operating procedure for recurring events.

Members discussed whether to charge vendor fees for recurring events such as food-truck nights to help stabilize participation and possibly raise revenue for parks; some vendors have expressed concern about traffic and participation. Smith noted sponsorship and donation options from the Sellersburg Celebrates organizers and read sponsorship levels available on the event website (presenting: $10,000; platinum: $5,000; gold: $2,500; silver: $1,000; bronze: $500). The board agreed to table any donation decision until its next meeting so members could review what each sponsorship level includes.

The board also reported it received two applications for a parks-board opening and will forward those candidates to the Town Council for appointment. The applicants are Austin Franklin, an incoming senior at Slover Creek, and Kelly Duggins, a Dreyer States neighborhood resident with prior service on the Jeffersonville Parks Board.

The board placed the draft park-event agreement and Sellersburg Celebrates donation request on the agenda for a future meeting for more detailed review.