Warsaw Park Board members toured and discussed a use for the Pete Thorn Center in Warsaw during Tuesday night’s meeting.
The board held its park board meeting at the facility, but did not vote on a use for the property.
During Baker Youth Club’s annual award dinner and auction May 16, Tracy Furnivall, Baker Youth Club executive director, announced Baker Youth Club will form a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Kosciusko County and merge.
The group is now known as the Baker Youth Club and children who had been meeting at the Pete Thorn Center, North Park Avenue, are now bussed to BYC’s location on Market Street.
The Council on Aging & Aged Inc. is still currently located in the Pete Thorn Center.
Staci Young, parks department activities director, said the department could use the Pete Thorn Center’s gymnasium and game room.
She said the gymnasium could be used to hold the department’s activities in instances of bad weather outdoors. She also said a corner office could be used to store equipment.
City Council representative Diane Quance said she thought the center would be a more convenient location for people to register for parks programs than out in the Boggs Building.
Jon Garber, park superintendent, presented the board with a letter from Jack Felger, Kosciusko Community Senior Service director, requesting the organization needed additional space at the center.
The letter requested the senior center could use a meeting room at the Pete Thorn Center and former Boys and Girls Club executive director Cindy Knepper’s office.
“I would be happy to partner with the Senior Center to use the space because the group is offering services to seniors we are not offering,” Young said.
The board will continue discussion on a use for the center at its July meeting.
Also during the meeting, the board reviewed a request from Eric Lane, Fellowship Missions executive director, to lease the concession stands at Center and Pike Lakes.
Lane did not attend Tuesday’s meeting.
Garber said in 2003 when the parks department allowed the stands to be rented, there was not enough money made. There also were issues with lights being left on, and the park board voted at the time to get out of the concession stand business. Garber said the parks department has gone to having Snapple machines and snack machines in the parks that have worked well.
He recommended not to allow the concession stand to be leased because of past experiences.
The board voted in support of Garber’s recommendation.
The board also had discussion on proposed 2012 budgets. The board approved the park and recreation and parks and recreation non reverting operating fund budgets. City Council will still need to review and approve the budgets.
Young said the proposed 2012 parks and recreation non reverting operating fund budget is the same as the 2011 budget at $14,081. The funds for the budget come from program registration fees.
Garber reviewed the proposed 2012 parks and recreation budget and said the budget is $1,903,407.
Garber said the 2012 budget is 7.28 percent higher that the approved 2011 budget, and 4.96 percent higher than the proposed 2011 budget.
Also during the meeting Young gave an update on insurance for special events and concerts.
She informed the board of works on Friday approved a contract with K & K Insurance for event cancellation insurance for the Classic Rock and Country Concert.
The contract provides cancellation insurance and relocation expenses if the concerts needed to be relocated to Warsaw Community High School.
