Michiana Area Council of Governments Senior Community Development Planner Donny Ritsema (L) talks to the Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board Thursday about master plans. Photo by David Slone.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — After wrapping up the final actions they needed to take on the parks master plan Thursday, May 18, the Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board moved on to discussions about a request for proposals for a trails and blueways master plan.

Board Vice President Troy Turley reported they received notification that the parks master plan had been reviewed and approved by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources on April 28.

“That’s a big step for our group,” he said.

Board member Mike Cusick said, “I think it’s great. I commend the board and the committee that helped us to do it. And, certainly, Donny (Ritsema) from MACOG (Michiana Area Council of Governments), who helped hold our hands through the entire process to get us where we got.”

He said the master plan has created a lot of priorities and goals so the board has some action items ahead of them to get completed.

Aggie Sweeney, board member, said she was really pleased with how it went.

Board President Rob Bishop and Secretary Matt Metzger were unable to attend Thursday’s meeting.

Turley then brought up the assurance of  accessibility compliance. Ritsema explained that, “This is ensuring that as park and recreational facilities are being constructed, that we, as an organization, are abiding by the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessibility requirements. So this is just a procedural item that the IDNR requests for all submissions, along with the resolution.”

Ritsema said at the April 13 board meeting, the board approved the master plan to be endorsed to be submitted to IDNR, knowing that the IDNR would have their final review of the master plan. Upon IDNR’s review, the formal procedure is to have the board approve the master plan by resolution.

He read the acceptance resolution for the 2023-27 parks master plan, which the parks board then approved 3-0. They then approved the assurance of accessibility compliance unanimously.

Turley then read a letter from Greg Beilfuss, chief planner with the IDNR Division of State Parks, Community Grants and Trails. The letter states the DNR planning staff reviewed the final draft of the 2023-28 Kosciusko County Five-Year Parks and Recreation Master Plan.

“The plan meets the Department of Natural Resources’ minimum requirements for local parks and recreation master plans. This letter certifies that your community is eligible to apply for Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Grants through this office in the 2023 grant year. A new plan will be due on Nov. 15, 2028, at which time your current LWCF grant application eligibility will expire,” the letter states. “If you haven’t already, we strongly recommend that you contact our grant section chief as soon as possible about future grant applications.”

With no action needed for that letter, the board moved on to discussion about an RFP for a master plan for trails and blueways.

“The purpose on this one was to develop our trails and blueways plan, specifically,” Cusick said, adding that the RFP should be for both of them.

County Commissioner Cary Groninger told the board there will be three meetings Tuesday — commissioners at 9 a.m., a combined commissioners and county council meeting at about 9:30 a.m. and then an American Rescue Plan Act Committee meeting at noon.

“Part of that meeting is going to be, with the H.E.L.P.  we’ve got $1 million worth of CDBG funds, and it’s going to be a joint meeting that will be held with the commissioners and council deciding how that CDBG funding will be split up, as far as between the county and the three communities (Mentone, Milford and Pierceton) that were part of H.E.L.P.,” Groninger said.

Kosciusko County was one of three communities selected in 2021 by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) to participate in the first round of the H.E.L.P. H.E.L.P. assists and equips rural communities with developing strategic investment plans, resulting in a legacy project for each community. The three communities agreed to participate with the county in the program.

“As we walk through that process, I think that’s going to tell us a little bit of what funding may be available, but as part of that H.E.L.P. process, both the council and commissioners and the ARPA Committee have already set aside $1.2 million for projects through H.E.L.P.,” Groninger told the board. “The projects that are listed in our SIP (Strategic Investment Plan) through H.E.L.P.  is Chinworth Trail, a master trail and blueway plan, a couple broadband projects.”

He said the council and commissioners have not decided which one of those projects are going to rise to the top, but some of that has to do with how they decide to split up the CDBG funds because, for example, the master trail plan is not fundable by CDBG dollars. It would need to be funded by ARPA funds. Long story short, he said Tuesday’s meetings will determine what monies are available, but, “I really see a strong path forward for both the trail project and a master trail and blueway (plan) to be funded through those H.E.L.P. dollars that have been set aside. Either the H.E.L.P. dollars or ARPA, or the CDBG matching dollars, depending upon what it is.”

He said they believe the Chinworth Trail project would meet the criteria for the CDBG funds due to the trailer parks and demographics in that area. An income study of that area would be required to happen.

“There’s multiple dominoes that have to fall, but the short term is,” the park board could get its RFP together before they put it out to bid, Groninger said. The commissioners and council would have to approve the expenditure for the RFP and master plan before the parks board moves forward on it.

Dustin New, planner with MACOG, talked to the board about short- and long-term planning and having a project priority list. Before applying for grants, he suggested the board have a plan, have done the background work, know what they need to do and have an idea of engineering and other costs. He said MACOG would be willing to work with the parks board.

Groninger said what he was envisioning  was that they would get that master plan for trails and blueways and then they would have an overall picture that could be narrowed down to their top three priorities.

The three parks board members agreed to having a work session, possibly on June 1, when all five board members could be there to further discuss an RFP for a master plan for trails and blueways.

The board also heard from Scott Fetters, biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife, about how he could help them with their planning and projects.