Kosciusko County Convention, Recreation and Visitors Commission approved two grants Wednesday.
The first grant request was for $71,808 from Lake City Skiers to purchase more bleachers.
Chuck McLaughlin, from Lake City Skiers, appeared in front of the commission in November, where his request was set aside at that time. Wednesday, McLaughlin said he had to go out and get a new quote since the previous one expired.
The grant for the bleachers will allow them to add 600 additional seats.
There are three tournaments that are put on and McLaughlin said attendance has increased at those tournaments. Last year, they had the largest crowd they ever had. They had 2,300 people at the All-Star show. They also are having bigger regional crowds from southern Indiana and Ohio.
Commission President Kathy Ray asked what would happen if the commission only approved part of the grant. McLaughlin said the skiers wouldn’t be able to pay for the remainder out of their own budget and, as far as other available grants, they don’t qualify for them.
After the commission approved the grant, McLaughlin thanked the commission and said he thought the grant would make a big difference. He said the skiers want to help with tourism.
“That’s why we do what we do, to draw people in,” he said.
The second grant the commission approved was for $40,000 so Henry Ward Park in Syracuse could update its bathrooms.
Chad Jonsson, Syracuse Park superintendent, said the Syracuse Parks did a master plan a couple years ago and did a maintenance and update plan. Henry Ward Park is one of the focuses.
No one in Syracuse knows when the bathrooms at the park were built and they can’t find records of them, Jonsson said. They’re block buildings that now have multiple holes in them. There are also leaks.
Jonsson said they want to refurbish the bathrooms and add them to a pavillion. Funding to help with that pavillion is why Jonsson was before the commission, he said. They’ve also solicited other grants for the project.
Estimates for the pavillion range from $120,000 to about $200,000. Jonsson said he thinks there will be some people willing to help if they can’t find grants to fund everything. He also said there will be additional costs the park will absorb as well.
Commission Vice President Mark Skibowski said the reason behind why he voted to approve the grant is because the commission has approved grants for Winona Lake’s Limitless Park and some walking trails.
In other business, the commission heard:
• An update from Elisa Wise, with Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts. Wise said the Wagon Wheel is about halfway through the funding for phase one of renovations on White Hill.
• An update from Cori Humes, executive director of the Kosciusko County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Visitors Center, who 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.
