Published: May 05, 2009 10:30 pm         

Still time to comment on Terre Haute Parks plan

TERRE HAUTE — Opportunities to comment on the city’s proposed five-year master plan for the parks department soon will be going, going, gone.

Cory Whitesell, of Hannum, Wagle & Cline Engineering, said public discussion on the plan will be accepted at the city’s Parks and Recreation Department board meetings at 4:30 p.m. May 13 and 27 in the Torner Community Center in Deming Park.

If all goes well, the plan will be accepted, he said.

“This is the final shot before it’s approved,” Whitesell said.

Public input has been incorporated into the draft plan with the help of surveys and a public open house at the Booker T. Washington Community Center this past September.

Whitesell said about 50 members of the community attended the open house and more than 300 surveys have been received. “That gives us a pretty good idea as to what the input is,” he said.

The plan, prepared by the team of Hannum, Wagle & Cline Engineering of Terre Haute and Context Landscape Architecture of Fortville, establishes goals for the entire parks system and makes recommendations for individual parks within the system.

Key initiatives in the plan include emphasizing maintenance, establishing alternative financing strategies, addressing major maintenance needs and working on an image campaign.