Michiana Council of Governments representative Donny Ritsema, far left, helps lead members of the Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board in a planning exercise for a county parks master plan at the board’s meeting on Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Kosciusko County Courthouse’s Old Courtroom. At the table are from left: Board Member Aggie Sweeney, Board Vice President Troy Turley, Board President Rob Bishop, Board Member Matt Metzger and Board Member Mike Cusick. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — The public should soon be able to weigh in on planning for Kosciusko County parks and recreation.

At its meeting on Thursday, Nov. 17, the Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board further discussed preparing a master plan. It’s expected to be finished in the spring and will enable the board to apply for grants.

Present was a representative from the Michiana Council of Governments, Donny Ritsema, who’s been helping the board with the process.

He brought up having the survey, noting how public engagement had helped in previous county planning efforts, such as the Hometown Chats.

“We are hoping to get that survey published here by the end of this month, so that it will be open and available for about 30 days or so,” said Ritsema.

The survey should be online and on postcards that people can take, with more information on it to come out later.

Related to the master plan, Ritsema led both the board and members of the plan’s steering committee in exercises in both identifying spots in the county where existing parks and recreation amenities could be connected and added and identifying barriers regarding county parks and recreation, such as lack of accessibility for those with disabilities.

In other business, the board:

• Approved its meeting times for 2023. Those will be at 1 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at the Kosciusko County Courthouse’s Old Courtroom. Those are: Jan. 19; Feb. 16; March 16; April 20; May 18; June 15; July 20; Aug. 17; Sept. 21; Oct. 19; Nov. 16; and Dec. 21.

The board’s next meeting is 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, at the Old Courtroom.