The Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board heard an update on the trails master plan during a special meeting on Wednesday.
Katie Clark, landscape architect and project manager at Taylor Siefker Williams (TSW) Design Group, presented the update to the board.
"We've really dialed in and done a lot of refinements to consolidate different routes where we can, re-route some of the proposed lines, moving things based on current usage, and suggested patterns that make more sense, and allowing that to inform where things might go," said Clark.
Clark said the master plan's steering committee reviewed the plan and believe TSW is taking advantage of areas people are already utilizing for hiking, biking and boating.
"We're taking advantage of all the great assets you have and building upon those to create what the system needs," said Clark.
Clark focused most of her presentation to the board on future priorities, including connecting to the state's Visionary Trail System, connecting Kosciusko County's towns to one another, and providing safe access to the Tippecanoe River and the county's lakes.
TSW Design Group also broke the systemwide master plan into 48 different components, itemizing them and ranking them as immediate, short-term, mid-term or long-term concepts.
"Within any one segment, they can be broken down into smaller phases depending on funding or property acquisition, whatever the challenge might be," said Clark.
The steering committee also agreed with how the components had been ranked, with TSW utilizing community feedback, field inventory and a general understanding of projects in the area to determine the ranking.
These components have further been placed alongside the county parks board's goals to see what various trail routes could potentially look like. The creation of a trail connection from Rochester's Nickel Plate Trail to Goshen's Pumpkinvine Nature Trail through Kosciusko County is being considered.
She said TSW is also staying on top of any updates related to the Indiana Department of Transportation's plans for the U.S. 30 corridor project.
Clark also said she's been in contact with both the Kosciusko County Highway Department and Area Planning Commission regarding discussions on trail maintenance.
"(Kosciusko County Highway Department Superintendent Steve Moriarty) is willing, his department's willing," said Clark. "But he may need some resources and backup to be able to do that. Structuring some of that into this plan would be helpful since you can't maintain things without resources and staff."
The board requested Clark place the draft into a Google Doc so board members can all access it and provide feedback.
In other business, the board moved to advertise for the re-bidding of the first phase of the Chinworth Trail Extension. This is due to two different addresses being listed as the delivery location for bids.
Bids for the project are now due to the Kosciusko County Auditor's Office by 2 p.m. Nov. 20. The bids will be opened at the board's next regular meeting on Nov. 21, with the board holding a special meeting at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 27 to select a bid. The selected bid will then be taken as a recommendation to the Kosciusko County Commissioners' Dec. 3 meeting. With this delay, the parks board will no longer have a special meeting on Nov. 7.
Board Member Mike Cusick also told the board he was approached by K21 Health Foundation President and CEO Rich Haddad. He said Haddad inquired about the potential establishment of a greenway loop around Winona Lake. The board expressed an interest in the project and said there was definitely a need for it, noting Country Club Road is a dangerous area for foot and bicycle traffic. Cusick said he would keep the rest of the board apprised of any further conversations.