K21 Health Foundation President and CEO Rich Haddad speaks with Etna Green Town Council and residents about a $200,000 pledge for health and wellness opportunities in the town. InkFreeNews photo by Liz Adkins.

By Liz Adkins
InkFreeNews

ETNA GREEN — After a hiatus on discussions, the Etna Green Town Council is continuing conversations on the creation of a walking trail at Heritage Park.

K21 Health Foundation President and CEO Rich Haddad attended the council meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14, to remind the council of K21’s $200,000 pledge to the town.

In September 2019, the K21 Health Foundation made a commitment of $1.8 million to be distributed to nine of the smaller communities in Kosciusko County. The money must be used for projects that will focus on health and wellness opportunities in the community.

Haddad said a lot of towns within Kosciusko County have completed their projects related to K21’s pledges.

Etna Green’s walking trail project was put on hold following changes to the council’s makeup and additional grant processes being unsuccessful.

Council President Heath Roberts also noted the town still has an $18,000 Go Forward! grant that must be used by June. Go Forward! is a grant opportunity being offered by the Kosciusko County Community Foundation.

Roberts said he’d like to see just under a half mile of a looped walking trail at Heritage Park. He asked both Haddad and Kosciusko County Community Coordinator Amy Roe questions about the project.

“I’ve heard different stories (about the project),” said Roberts. “You (Haddad) say sidewalk, I hear walking path. Walking path is eight feet, sidewalk is four feet. If I start quoting this out and I run out of money … can I narrow this down to where it’s four feet? Can it be pavement? Can it be concrete? I’ve got a lot of questions to ask before I go out and start quoting this.”

“To me, the answer is do what you think is best for the town,” said Haddad.

Council Member Susan Klinefelter asked about the possibility of excess money after the trail project is completed being used to upgrade playground equipment or create pickleball courts at Heritage Park. Council Member Keith Claassen also suggested using excess money to make the park’s pavilion more accessible.

“What we’d like to see is one plan presented that hopefully uses the whole $200,000,” said Haddad. “If you sat and went, ‘Let’s put all $200,000 into our park and make it the best park we can make it,’ then how many ideas could we come up with? The pathway, that’s a big chunk of it.”

Roberts said he wants the trail to be usable for both bicyclists and walkers.

Roe and Haddad also said the town could potentially use monies from the Orthopedic Industry Retention Initiative for future park project phases.

In other business, Klinefelter suggested the creation of an ordinance setting the town’s speed limit to 20 mph. This would affect all roadways except SR 19 and West Old Road 30, which are not regulated by the town.

Klinefelter said she had seen complaints on social media about motorists speeding on High Street. She consulted with the county highway department about the issue.

“There’s no place to put a stop sign there,” said Klinefelter. “From the railroad to the west side of the cemetery, by state law, it’s 55 mph. It’s an accident waiting to happen, especially with people pulling out of driveways.”

Council agreed to hold a public hearing on creating an ordinance at their Feb. 11 meeting.

Roe also gave a brief update on a future mural project in town. She told the council she would attend the Kosciusko County Convention, Recreation and Visitors Commission’s Jan. 15 meeting to learn more about their grant processes. Council approved Klinefelter working with Roe on any additional matters pertaining to grants for the mural.

The council also tabled discussions on the town using Invoice Cloud, an online electronic bill payment system for residents. Clerk-Treasurer Patti Cook said Invoice Cloud would allow residents to pay bills via e-mail or through automatic payments.

Roberts said he wanted further information on the system and also wanted to talk with other local towns about what they utilize for bill payments.

Etna Green Council’s next meeting is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11.