By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — Continuing their work on the five-year master plan Thursday, Jan. 19, the Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board heard nearly 500 people responded to the public input survey and they worked on the priority action program in small groups.

Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG) Senior Community Development Planner Donny Ritsema told the board he had the final results for the public input survey, which was concluded Jan. 11. The initial findings were shared at the December meeting with only 277 responses. Since then, an additional 220 responses were submitted for a total of 497.

“With that final push, we did also get more representation across the county,” he said. “ … So we did get a lot more responses in the smaller counties, the northern and southern regions in particular. So, we feel really happy that we had a lot more representation across the (county) and not just more focused in the Warsaw and Winona Lake area.”

By zip codes, 159 survey responses came from 46580, Warsaw; 74 from no answer/invalid zip code; 72 from 46582, Warsaw; 71 from 46590, Winona Lake; 18 from 46562, Pierceton; 12 from 46538, Leesburg; and 11 from 46510, Claypool. All other zip codes in the county were four or less.

The additional survey responses didn’t necessarily change the priorities in any fashion, Ritsema said, but re-emphasized and enforced what was already prioritized from the input survey back at the December meeting. He said it was good to know that everyone was in agreement with the additional submissions.

One question on the survey asked which parks did the respondent visit. Winona Lake Limitless Park led the results with 254, followed by Center Lake Park at 117 (Central Park received a separate 79 votes), Pike Lake at 105, Kelly Park at 85, Lucerne Park at 52, Beyer Park at 47, Ker Park at 39, Disc Golf Course at 18, Bixler Park at 13 and Waubee Park at 11.

The top three responses for which amenities drew a person to parks were walking paths, 383; playground, 273; and beach, 267.

Chain O’Lakes received the most votes for parks that respondents visited outside of Kosciusko County at 27, while the top three amenities that draw respondents out of the county were hiking trails (205), walking paths (189) and nature preserve/open space at 169.

Asked which amenities or opportunities are missing from Kosciusko County, hiking trails was first at 193 responses, followed by nature preserve/open space at 163; walking paths, 153; kayak/canoe launches, 102; outdoor fitness area at 97; and obstacle course at 87. All other responses had less than 65 responses, with ball diamonds and basketball courts at the bottom of the provided list at 22 and 21, respectively.

A final question on the survey asked who in the household uses the recreational amenities in Kosciusko County. Adults 30 to 64 had 332 responses, followed by children 6 to 12 at 145, children younger than 6 at 133, adults 18 to 28 at 129, teens 13 to 17 at 105 and seniors 65 and older at 98 responses.

Board member Mike Cusick asked if the 497 responses was a “pretty good number” for the size of the county. Ritsema said for the size of the county, “that’s very good.” Kosciusko County’s population is slightly above 80,000 residents.

Also at the December board meeting, Ritsema reminded them they did an exercise to help identify the board’s priority goals to focus on for the next five years. The final outcome was eight main goals to focus on and those were presented on worksheets Thursday for the board and master plan steering committee to come up with strategies that could be used to help meet the goals.

The goals included establishing an annual operating park board budget; adding trail connections between communities, parks, recreational facilities, etc.; establishing a linear park system along waterways and the Tippecanoe River; creating a centralized hub; adding trail connections with regional communities, parks and trails; creating a nonprofit volunteer group; partner with organizations to create unified branding and marketing; and establish neighborhood/pocket parks or advocate for pocket parks in underserved areas.

While the small groups were working on those worksheets, Ritsema provided an outline for the Kosciusko County five-year parks master plan public engagement.

The purpose for the second round of public engagement is to provide another opportunity for county residents and visitors to be engaged in the development of the parks master plan.

The public comment period will be in March. Public engagement will be promoted through social media; printed flyers at city and town halls and public libraries; a news release; local communities’ electronic message signs; and by the board and steering committee.

The draft of the master plan will be posted on the Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board’s webpage, according to information provided by Ritsema. Printed copies will be available at city and town halls and public libraries. The public will be able to submit their comments through an online comment form or paper comment forms will be provided with the draft plans, or people can submit their comments through Facebook or by email.

Three public open houses will be offered in March at a north, central and south location to provide opportunities for individuals from all over the county to attend. Ritsema said those times, dates and locations will be announced at a later date.

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