Winona Lake Limitless Park Seeking Land, Water Conservation Grant
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
WINONA LAKE – Winona Lake Town Council heard an update on the limitless park project during its meeting Tuesday night. Erin Porter, Limitless Park Committee chair, provided public notification during the meeting that the lands at Winona Lake Park where the limitless park is being planned are in a flood plain. The town is doing an environmental assessment of the area, Porter said, which is needed for the town’s application for a $200,000 Land and Water Conservation grant for the park. This week the committee is sending out 300 letters to corporations requesting donations for the park. The fundraising goal from corporations is $300,000, Porter said. Porter said the town is partnering with Kosciusko County Velo Cycling Club and the Warsaw-Winona Lake Ride-Walk Advisory Committee to establish the park as a trailhead of the town’s greenway and trail system. “There will be a trail system with a sign on the restroom facility that has a trail system map,” Porter said. Work also is being done to expand parking in front of cottages in town that will be next to the limitless park. K21 Health Foundation recently awarded a $200,000 grant toward construction of the park. The grant was presented to the Town of Winona Lake, Winona Lake Park Board and the Limitless Park Committee. The total estimated cost of the limitless park project is $1.1 million, according to Craig Allebach, town coordinator. Winona Lake Limitless Park Committee is a group of volunteers who represent a community-driven project to renovate the current Winona Lake playground into a universally accessible playground and splash pad. Extensive work for planning and development, fundraising, grant writing, and community relations has been done by members of the committee over the last two years. In 2011, members of the committee were awarded the Kosciusko Leadership Academy’s Northenor Award and granted seed money from a private foundation. In 2012, a memorandum of understanding was formalized between the committee, the Town of Winona Lake and Winona Lake Park Board. The Winona Lake Parks Department has developed a five-year master plan that encompasses the construction of Winona Lake Limitless Park. The design calls for a splash pad, universally accessible playground, year-round family restrooms, landscaping, concrete paths, shaded rest areas, and infrastructure modifications necessary to accommodate park goers. The playground allows for children who require wheelchairs or other medical equipment, children with physical disabilities, and children with social or emotional difficulties.
