Dubois County Park improvements on docket for 2022

The Dubois County Park is expected to have some improvements completed in the coming year if a contractor’s bid is approved Monday at the Dubois County Commissioner’s meeting.

Park board president Christine Prior presented the bid ranges to the county council earlier this week.

According to Prior, the bids ranged from $855,000 to $915,000 for the base bid. The board also received eight bids for alternatives that ranged from $984,000 to $1,034,000.

The project will be funded through a $250,000 Indiana Land and Water Conservation grant, $250,000 in matching funds and $350,000 in local option income tax or American Rescue Plan funds. Prior said the board feels it has about another $100,000 to $125,000 in the park’s non-reverting funds available as well.

The planned renovations include adding 14 RV campsites, making improvements to the trails and adding a bathroom and information area. To remain eligible for the grant, the improvements have to be completed by 2023.

Councilwoman Becky Beckman pointed out that if the park uses the money in its non-reverting fund, they wouldn’t have much left if anything else needed to be addressed at the park.

“It won’t totally wipe us out but we won’t have a lot of money in there to do a lot of things with,” Prior said.

The planned improvements for 2022 will be all the park board can do for the next two years, according Prior.

“We feel like we are in growth mode versus maintaining and fixing things,” she explained.

The added amenities like the additional RV camping sites is expected to in more revenue for the popular park.

Initially, the council had planned on pulling the $350,000 for the project from the $8.3 million in American Rescue Plan funds it received, but officials were unsure whether it could be used for the park project. Funding has to be in place before a contract can be awarded and signed, so the council approved the use of money from the Local Option income tax funds if the ARPA money is not available.