North Judson-area residents will soon be asked for input on the town’s park facilities. Town officials are putting together a survey and planning a public engagement session for next month, according to Clerk-Treasurer Andrew Rowe. “Changes you’d like to see, have you used the park at all this last year or in the years previous, those kind of questions,” he says.
It’s part of the town’s five year park planning process.
Rowe says the park board and a few town council members held an initial meeting with planning consultant Mike Reese with the Troyer Group Monday. “We didn’t get too, too deep,” Rowe says. “We discussed surface-level stuff like upgrading equipment, tree removal, pathways to the hidden diamond. We don’t want it to be so much of a hidden diamond any more, so what does that mean?”
In addition to the public engagement session, the Troyer Group also wants to hold focus group meetings for individual stakeholder groups, like public safety officials, students, and other community organizations.
Rowe says the five-year park plan will cover the Town Park and Norwayne Field, but may also identify opportunities to develop new, smaller parks. A draft of the plan is expected to be completed in January, with the final version to be submitted to the state in April. Having a current park plan would make the North Judson Park Board eligible for more grant opportunities.
