Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board member Mike Cusick, right, asks a question Thursday about the request for proposals for the greenways and blueways master plan to board members, from left, Aggie Sweeney, Vice President Troy Turley and President Rob Bishop. Board Secretary Matt Metzger was absent from Thursday’s board meeting.

By David Slone
Times-Union

WARSAW — After some further discussion Thursday, July 20, the Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board approved a draft of the request for proposals for a greenways and blueways master plan.

The draft will go next to County Administrator Marsha McSherry and attorney Ed Ormsby for review. The RFP also was a topic of discussion at the board’s special meeting July 11.

Michiana Area Council of Governments Active Transportation Planner Dustin New sent to the board a fully fledged draft RFP about an hour before the board’s meeting Thursday. Board President Rob Bishop said he took that draft and made some changes, including adding the board’s logo. Board member Mike Cusick talked about the importance of having the logo on official board documents for branding purposes.

Bishop said the majority of the draft RFP is MACOG’s. New said it was customized for Kosciusko County’s project.

“Our real key point was, there was a project overview where Dustin had a spot for us to put in our goals. I grabbed largely the scope of work off what I was working on, which we had talked about what all we wanted them to do,” Bishop said. “… Other than that, I think it’s largely ready to go.”

Cusick and board member Aggie Sweeney brought up the difference between dispersed camping versus primitive camping and if those should be addressed in the RFP and how. Sweeney said she just wanted it to be clear if they mentioned campground that it wasn’t the kind of campground with electrical and water hookups. New said for him there’s a fine line between too much, and the more information the board put in the RFP the more the consultants can narrow down their scope without the board giving the consultants the answers the board thinks they’re looking for.

Sweeney said one change needed for the RFP was it needed to say Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board and not department. And, as it talks about blueways, she said she wanted to make sure two things were clear: like the greenways, the blueways are not motorized; and while there can be blueways on the lakes, the parks board has been prioritizing rivers and streams.

New said he was not 100% clear on the dates for the RFP. Bishop said the dates are still up in the air at this point because the county administrator and legal counsel still need to review the RFP.

There also was some discussion on a paragraph about the State Department of Health, which Bishop wanted left in due to a grant being shared from the town of Winona Lake; and a steering committee and the amount of public involvement on the master plan. Cusick brought up questions on the evaluation criteria, but was told that evaluation was standard.

Eventually, board Vice President Troy Turley made a motion to approve the draft RFP, and Sweenedy seconded it, with the vote to approve it being 4-0. Board member Matt Metzger was absent.