At the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Board meeting on Tuesday, June 18, are, from left, Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Maintenance Director Shaun Gardner, Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent Larry Plummer, Board President Steve Haines, Vice President Larry Ladd and members Noemi Ponce and Jill Beehler. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Plans to add a large park near the Warsaw Municipal Airport are part of the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department’s tentative 2025 budget.

At its meeting on Tuesday, June 18, the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Board approved its budget, which the Warsaw Common Council still needs to OK.

Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Superintendent Larry Plummer gave a quick overview of the budget to the board before the vote.

He noted the personal services section of the regular budget was a 10% overall increase from 2024, with the planned 2025 amount for that section standing at $2,070,400.

Part of the increased cost was due to two salaried employees potentially getting 2.5% raises, said Plummer.

“We’ve also included an additional employee in here,” he said. “It’s been since 2018 since we’ve had an additional employee. We’ve got Rotary Park, we’ve got Gateway Grove (park) coming and if the airport park comes, we’re certainly going to need more personnel to take care of all of these.”

“Over the years, our responsibilities have grown and I mean (Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Maintenance Director) Shaun (Gardner) can attest to that,” said Plummer.” We’re just doing more and more each year. It’s time we need another employee.”

Planning for the airport park also is part of estimated 2025 expenses in the capital outlay part of the budget. That section is tentatively 147% more than it was in 2024 in part because of equipment for the airport park, explained Plummer.

“The big thing in here right now is the equipment needed to maintain a 64-acre park,” he said. “What’s being proposed right now or is on the table is doing phase 1 of the airport park, which is 32 acres of it. We’re looking at possibly the cricket field, the disc golf, the maintenance building, some parking lots, restroom facilities all included in phase 1, but it all is contingent upon grant money and funding, but the planning department is really looking into this and trying to get the ball rolling. They’d like to have bids out this year and possibly construction next year.”

“If that happens, we’re going to need the equipment out there to run and maintain that park,” continued Plummer. “All of our mowers and equipment are used nonstop, five days a week to maintain all of our other parks and this is going to be another entity out there that is going to have its own maintenance facility and it will have its own equipment to maintain that park.”

“How many acres do we maintain currently without that?” asked Board Vice President Larry Ladd.

Plummer said it was 80.

“So (the airport park) is almost doubling our system,” he added.

Other costs adding to the capital outlay section of the parks’ budget is adding a restroom building at Hire Park, an estimated $80,000 project, and replacing the equipment at Kiddieland at Municipal Park off Center Lake for an estimated $90,000, said Plummer.

The proposed 2025 parks’ budget stands at $3,413,600, with $25,350 and $55,250 proposed in two separate nonreverting funds.

In other business, the board:

• Agreed to not make any changes at Kelly Park to address a pickleball noise complaint brought by resident Judy Heiman. Heiman, who lives near the park, shared her concerns about the noise last year. The board hired a pickleball noise consultant to see what could be done to address the issue. However, after Heiman said at the board’s May meeting that she may be unsatisfied with the solution, the board agreed to table the issue. It was brought up at Tuesday’s meeting as Heiman had contacted the parks’ department again, though she wasn’t at the meeting.
• Heard that parks’ employee Richard Pierson had gotten the “Makes My Day Award” for the month of May.

The board’s next meeting is 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, July 18, at Warsaw City Hall.

Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department employee Richard Pierson, right, won the “Makes My Day Award” for May. With him is Plummer. Photo provided.