Now that the Town of Winamac has pulled its financial support of the swimming pool rebuilding project, the town’s park board is thinking about other projects that could benefit from potential grant funding.
During last week’s meeting, Park Board President Courtney Poor said there’s been a good amount of interest in adding a splash pad. Poor said he and fellow board member Jon Chapman went to Knox and Argos to do some research into their facilities. “If the departments – the water department, whomever – could do some of the work, they said that we probably could get a splash pad for, I believe they said, around $45,000,” Poor explained. “And that would probably have three above-ground items because that’s what they have there [in Argos], and they have 25, is it, jets coming out, and they’re all on three-minute timers.”
Meanwhile, board member Pat Bawcum suggested looking into adding a canoe and kayak launch and tying it together with other planned improvements at the Town Park. She said the project might have a good chance of getting a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant. “If we played it right and if you looked at the chart for how you get the points, by using the waterway, we’re going to get a bunch of points there,” she said. “And then bring all that stuff in at the same time and bring all those numbers. I mean, it’s the thousands, I think, if we really look at the two places that are busing people in.”
However, board members agreed that the Town Park restrooms should be the first priority, since that was the number one concern raised during the park board’s five-year planning process. But depending on the cost, board members suggested paying for the restrooms with other funding sources, rather than waiting for the grant process.
Poor asked board members to prioritize the project list and then revisit it in January to decide how to proceed with a potential grant application.
