Jasper School Corporation and city unclear on future of country club park

Jasper — Barry Alberts of Louisville-based CityVisions and David Gamble of Boston-based Gamble and Associates presented the City of Jasper with the their proposal for the development of the former-country club golf course.

The plan was developed through efforts by a volunteer advisory group who worked with Gamble and Alberts during the process to create the identity for the country club park. The group also held public meetings on two occasions to garner opinions from those present on determining the best route to take with the project.

From this Alberts and Gamble developed a list of conceptual elements for the park. Their ideas included the following:

• It should be publicly accessible and open year round.
• The landscape should be contiguous with a wide range of passive programming opportunities; not several separated usage areas.
• It should include a network of recreation and fitness trails for all ages and physical abilities.
• It should include a learning laboratory that educates people about ecological systems through an understanding of the site’s natural characteristics and it’s eventual transformation.
• It should be able to accommodate facilties that advance environmental stewardship.
• It should be a place that enhances the creative spirit and provides opportunities for artistic endeavors in harmony with a beautiful natural setting.
• It should be easily accessible with a series of small distributed parking areas.
• It should be an asset to the neighbors bordering it.
• It should be a unique destination — unlike any other in the city — but also an integral and well-connected part of the city’s park system.
• It should be a place of beauty and civic pride with photo ops and small public gathering/performance areas.
• Easy to maintain with a managed-meadows approach.
• Implemented in a manner that allows flexibility and change.
• Respectful of the character and cohesion of a large landscape space while still accommodating some uses that activate the site.

They made several suggestions to accomplish the 13 points listed above like adding parking that would accommodate up to 300 vehicles spread through three separate sites located along the outer edge of the park border. They also recommended two of the three ponds be combined into a larger lake to address drainage issues in the property. The third pond would be removed and a bridge would traverse the newly-created larger lake adding to the aesthetics of the property.

They also recommended a trail system be developed along the existing cart paths connecting small separated pavillions. A large 15,000 square foot structure could be centrally located and used environmental education opportunities and an outside amphitheater.

Some concerns were raised during the meeting, including the fact that Gamble and Alberts vision included utilizing areas that were not purchased with the property. Those areas include a large parking area south of the Jasper VFW.

Of greatest concern during the meeting was the differing opinions on the inclusion of the Greater Jasper School Corporation in future development of the property.

When the property was initially proposed as a potential city purchase in January, the city and school were both interested in the it and had both been approached by the owners. Rather than fighting over the property, the school and city agreed to allow the city to take the lead in purchasing the property and then selling a portion of it to the school corporation.

In an act of good faith the school corporation paid for one of the mandated appraisals of the property. The school board then approved purchasing 15 acres of the property located on the west side adjacent to the high school. The purchase at the time was contingent upon the city purchasing the property, but the board agreed regardless of that outcome they were interested in that portion of the property. (That story is here including a map of the area the school is interested in obtaining)

At the November Jasper Common Council meeting, Councilman Kevin Manley told the council people in the community as well as neighbors to the property were not in support of selling property to the school corporation. (That story is here)

During the November Greater Jasper School Board meeting, School Superintendent Dr. Tracy Lorey asked the public to contact them with their concerns regarding the purchase of 15 acres of the property from the city. During the meeting on Wednesday, school board president Nancy Habig stated that the sentiment expressed to her supported the school purchasing the property.

Mayor Terry Seitz said that he and council members have heard the opposite and have been directing those people to contact the school corporation.

Habig pointed out that the school has not decided on any use for the property yet. Some confusion was created during the last public presentation by CityVision and Gamble and Associates in which a large elementary school was shown superimposed on a 15 acre area of the country club park. Alberts stated that information came from meetings with Gibraltar Design, a firm the school corporation is working with to develop solutions for future expansion.

Currently the corporation is examining solutions to accommodate the growing elementary school population in buildings that are now experiencing-age related issues.

Lorey recommended that school officials and the city should get together to discuss the matter. Mayor Seitz agreed and recommended it be done in private before holding any public meetings.

Alberts agreed that the outcome of those meetings would affect the final version of the plan to be presented to the city.