Concerns about the condition of the parking lot at the Community Wellness Center of Winamac and who’s responsible for maintaining it are being raised by the town’s park board president.
“I have never seen a more atrocious parking lot in my life, as that I see up there where the pool was at the Wellness Center right now,” Park Board President Courtney Poor said during last week’s meeting. “And I am telling you that I will be going to the board meeting on the 14th and getting myself on the agenda, to tell the town board exactly that, as a concerned citizen.”
While the Wellness Center owns the building, the Town of Winamac owns the property it sits on. The reason the park board might be involved is that it would have jurisdiction over the nearby swimming pool, if it were to be rebuilt.
Poor said that while it doesn’t appear to concern the park board at this point, it’s important to get the issue resolved. “There are children that come to that parking lot in the dark to get on a bus,” he said. “I don’t know why. What the situation is, I really have no idea. But I will tell you, it’s a danger to the children, stepping in one of those, hurting themselves. Shouldn’t happen. Don’t know that it’s a part of our board here, but I’m just going on the record as saying that if it is a part, we need to be told by the town board, and something needs to be done.”
Poor asked whether the Wellness Center should be responsible for the repairs. “Let’s say I rented a home and I’ve got a landlord, and it is up a gravel lane and by going down the gravel lane, there are potholes in that. Is it the responsibility of the renter to fill in those holes, or is it the responsibility of the landlord? I don’t have an answer for that question.”
Park Board Secretary Kim Burke noted that the town has added gravel in the parking lot in the past, as a favor to the Wellness Center. Poor is expected to discuss the issue further during Monday’s town council meeting.
