During the County Park and Recreation Board meeting, members discussed purchasing NO HUNTING signs that would be posted on the county park properties. Greg Hildebrand, President of the Park Board said he would ask the County Commissioners about implementing an ordinance prohibiting hunting. That way there would be some penalties in place if there were violations.
The board is willing to install NO HUNTING signs to ensure that visitors to the parks understand that hunting is not allowed on county park properties.
Under New Business, Park Board member Brian Main said he attended the Indiana Park and Recreation State Conference. He attended a seminar hosted by the DNR discussing the largest grant available to park systems, the Land & Water Conservation Grant. Main said the grant is being totally overhauled and will have less transparency on how they will award projects.
The minimum amount you can apply for is $250,000 with a 50-50 match creating a half-a-million-dollar project and they will accept projects as large as $1.4 million for the entire project. Main said the match can be in-kind services, land donation, or monetary and the match must be stipulated in the year-long application process. He said they have lots of money to give out if and when the County Park Board is ready for a very substantial project.
Hildebrand said he looked at the grant because the weather has taken a real total on the pond at the Memorial Forest. He said a grant like this could allow the County Park Board to do some dredging and development of the area. Greg said the water level is way down.
