KCCRVC President Kathy Ray and Board Member Mark Skibowski are shown listening to a grant request for seating by the Lake City Skiers at a Wednesday, March 8, meeting. Photo by Caleigh Byrer.

By Caleigh Byrer
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — The Kosciusko County Convention, Recreation and Visitors Commission approved a grant for the Lake City Skiers to establish more seating at its Wednesday, March 8, meeting.

The Lake City Skiers requested a grant for the installation of bleachers at the November 2022 KCCRVC meeting and returned before the commission with the same request as their need for additional seating is becoming more dire.

The team holds three large tournaments per year, with 2,300 people in attendance at the last Allstar show. They plan to hold additional shows and tournaments in the future during the off-season, such as a doubles tournament and a jump tournament.

The grant request was for bleachers that would seat roughly 600 people, costing $71,808. After weighing the fiscal pros and cons, the commission moved to approve the grant as the Lake City Skiers are extremely beneficial to local tourism.

In other business, Chad Jonnson spoke in representation of Henry Ward Park in Syracuse to request a grant for restroom renovations.

Jonnson said as the bathrooms are in need of repair and there are multiple fishing tournaments held at the lake, they would like to add the bathroom facility to the pavilion.

They have already obtained $77,000 in grant funding through other avenues, and were requesting $40,000 from the commission.

The overall project cost could range anywhere from $120,000-$200,000, which is an estimate based on the Lakeside Park building project.

The commission was in agreement that repairs were necessary and approved the grant.

The commission also heard the following updates:

• Elisa Wise with Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts said they are halfway through the funding for phase one of renovations on White Hill and are looking at phase two, which includes the piping and plumbing in the building.
• Cori Humes with Kosciusko County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Visitors Center said their 2023 digital visitors guide is now live and available on their website. They expect to have physical copies by mid- to late March.
• The CVB also plans to apply for the Indiana Destination Development Corporation public art activation grant, install a piece from a local artist in the Visitors Center and do promotional work for National Tourism Week in May.