Huntingburg takes steps to add a north side park

When Huntingburg announced plans for Hunters Crossing, it came with a proposal for a new park.

Monday afternoon, the Huntingburg Park Board reviewed plans for a proposed park and trail along the western edge of the new development along North Chestnut Street.

The board also passed a resolution to match a potential $200,000 grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund — a federally funded grant through Indiana Department of Natural Resources — with $200,000 in park and city funds. The resolution is contingent upon the common council’s decision on whether or not to contribute $39,070 to the matching funds.

The grant application is being completed by Indiana 15 Regional Planning Commission is due by June 1.

According to Lisa Gehlhausen, executive director of Indiana 15, the northside park was listed as a necessary addition to the county in the recently completed Dubois County Park and Recreation Plan.

The park would be developed on a 3.56-acre plot of land on the northwest corner of Hunters Crossing. While a large portion of the land is being used as a retention pond for the development, about 5000 square feet could be developed into the new park.

The land is owned by Boxer Girl LLC, the developer of the new subdivision, and the park board is hopeful the company will donate the land for the park. If that occurs, the estimated value will be considered a portion of the $200,000 match from the park board. The land was appraised for the creation of the overpass and is thought to be valued at about $79,948.

The playground will be connected to the housing in the area through a 515-foot trail. The equipment and playground will be a modern facility completely ADA accessible with benches and a bike rack.

“It’s state of the art, ADA accessible and just looks like fun,” said Gehlhausen.

The city also owns a 1.56-acre strip of land adjacent to Dogwood Court that could be used as an access point for folks outside the development.

Park board member Mande Keusch was the first to make the motion to accept the proposal and dedicate the matching funds. “I’m definitely on board,” she said. “One of the first things I wanted to do when I joined the park board was to add a park on the north side where all the suburbs are and all the families and young kids are.”

The $400,000 in total that will be available will cover the initial cost of creating the playground. The park board will be responsible for allocating about $70,000 from the 2018 budget to create the park. They will also pay for the benches, bike racks, parking and seeding of the land to the tune of about $10,982.

If approved by the council, Stellar Community funds will be used to cover the $39,070 from the city.

Those amounts will be added to the assessed value of the donated land to cover the park board’s portion of the $200,000 match. According to Gehlhausen, the appraisal of the land could impact how much the park board and city have to fund.

If the grant is approved, the park will have to remain a park and trail for perpetuity. Future plans include connecting the park to the Heritage Trail and Charles C. Niehaus Memorial Park.

“This idea came about as part of the Stellar program,” Mayor Denny Spinner said. “This grant will allow us to get the playground out there to be utilized immediately and allow us time to get a three- to five-year plan developed as it grows.”

According to Park Director Larry Altstadt, if everything goes according to plan, the playground should be completed by the end of 2018.

The park board also took the following actions:

• Approved paving 1,800 additional feet of trail at the Charles C. Niehaus Memorial Park. Woebkenberg Construction of Ferdinand was awarded the contract for $52,771.29.
• Heard from Alstadt that he had ordered three disc golf baskets to create a disc golf driving range at the Charles C. Niehaus Memorial Park.
• Heard that repairs to park facilities after the late April flooding totaled $39,000.