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Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board gave updates on some of the trail projects around the county during a meeting on Thursday, Aug. 13.
Board President Troy Turley let the board know about some of the updates on the Chinworth Bridge Trailhead. He noted they had the first meeting with HWC, an engineering firm, about two weeks ago. Turley said the meeting lasted about 1.5 hours and was onsite. During the second meeting, which will be virtual, they will be able to see the first rendered concepts for the trailhead.
Board member Rob Bishop let the board know that during the County Commissioners meeting, the Highway Department is working on getting the paint redone “because they’re in charge of bridges and it’s a bridge that’s owned by the county,” and that they will be putting bids out for repainting the bridge. County Auditor Alyssa Schmucker noted that the bids would be advertised on Aug. 19 and Aug. 26, with bids opened on Sept. 22.
Board member Mike Cusick brought a question from a group about using the Chinworth Bridge Trailhead for an upcoming event and did not think there was any process for utilization of the trailhead currently, even though it may have been used for events in the past.
“We may want to have policies and procedures to follow for awareness of events on the trail,” said Cusick.
Bishop said they would need to look at putting together proposed rules, get a hold of Winona Lake and Warsaw about their procedures so the policies match, and then send those to the County Commissioners to get approval. Board member Aggie Sweeney stated the County Ride/Walk meeting “is a week from today,” and said she can talk to them about sharing policies and the intent to get the commissioners' approval on the matter.
Other Project Updates
Board Vice President Matt Metzger had been looking for “potential launch sites” for the river and noticed that a lot of the probable launch sites were privately owned. He asked the board “how would they be able to offer incentives to those landowners” to possibly have a launch site on their property.
The board discussed the need for possibly contacting the Department of Natural Resources for permits and having a feasibility study for the area. Sweeney reminded the board about the five-year plan, where the consultants they used mapped out potential sites, stating “that doesn’t mean they got permission from anybody to build something there, but … what they thought would be reasonable locations,” and if done the correct way, “it gives us the opportunity to apply for state dollars for improvements,” which could include an easement.
Bishop updated the board on the two projects he has with the Wawasee South Trail and the Pierceton-Winona Lake Trail.
With Wawasee South, they had a great fundraiser, where County Coordinator Amy Roe was honored as Trail Advocate of the Year. He said “they are a heck of a lot closer (to their goal) than they were a week ago.”
The Winona Lake town manager, Bishop and the engineer for the Pierceton side of the trail will have a meeting to discuss getting the project “trail ready.” Cusick will also join in on the meeting to talk about the Loop in Winona Lake, because “it has a previous feasibility study … done prior to COVID.” Cusick asked Sweeney to bring up during the Ride/Walk meeting “re-awareness about the loop.”
In other news:
• Turley noted that it was possibly the four-year anniversary of the board.
• Roe will bring Sweeney into the conversations about the Etna Green trail.
• Steve Foegley, with Friends of the Trails, will have more information at the next meeting, and Turley noted the last workday was rained out, but there was a good turnout. The Kiwanis proposed workday is 9-11 a.m. Oct. 17, and the Friends are also looking at a day in October.
• The Kosciusko County Historical Society donated the remainder of the Chinworth Bridge mugs to the board, which was appreciated by all board members.
The next meeting of the county Parks and Recreation board will be at 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10.
