At its December meeting the Kosciusko County Parks and Recreation Board heard a status update on the county’s trails master plan and agreed to begin a public review period once the board and steering committee receive digital copies.

The move matters because the plan identifies priority segments, implementation steps and outreach needs that will guide grant applications and future construction across the county.

Katie Clark, the plan presenter, said the draft now includes a short executive summary and expanded material on "building blocks" that the plan uses to align trails and protect local features. "There is now kind of a true, just short executive summary that could really be used as a quick kind of marketing piece," Clark said.

Clark said the plan lists roughly 47 to 48 projects in total and groups short- and midterm priorities into data-and-planning tasks and design-and-implementation tasks. She asked the board and steering committee to begin a public review so residents can spot typographical errors, ask clarifying questions and offer substantive input. "I'd like to go ahead and get that kind of public review period started on the plan," Clark said. She told the board she would upload a PDF and a Word document to a shared Google Drive and expected to send the link the next day. "By tomorrow, those will be available," she said.

Board members discussed outreach to potential funders and partners before the Jan. 16 meeting. They named the Community Foundation and K21 as priority contacts and discussed reaching out to county commissioners and municipal council members for input. Clark offered to present virtually to partner groups as needed and suggested a deadline for comments about a week before the board's Jan. 16 meeting so the plan could be updated in time for that session.

Board members reviewed project priorities for the coming year. They described three near-term projects the board will watch: Syracuse-area work that is in or near final design and looking for construction funding; a North Manchester route that has identified a corridor but needs engineering; and interest from Pearson to connect to nearby trails, though Pearson does not yet have detailed plans. A representative from Syracuse-area stakeholders, Beth, said Syracuse Swallow Sea Trails (as stated in the meeting) is working on stage 1 design and has funds to define the trail alignment and identify required permits, including coordination with the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT). "Their plans with that phase 1 design is basically to clearly outline exactly where the trail is going, what permits are gonna be needed, coordination with INDOT," Beth said.

Board members noted that county commissioners had indicated general fund dollars would not be used for parks construction or ongoing park maintenance, meaning any transfer of park responsibilities from other bodies would require an alternative maintenance funding plan. One board member said that, if the county were to take on Chinworth Park, "we're gonna have to have figured out maintenance of it, without relying upon general fund dollars to do so."

Clark said she will return virtually in January to review comments and help the board determine whether the plan is ready to move toward formal adoption or whether it needs further revision. Board members also agreed to schedule meetings with local foundations and elected decision-makers to solicit feedback before the January meeting.