Posted on May 15, 2017
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI
The Starke County Park Board may have to wait another year before applying for grant funding from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Now that Starke County has a five-year park plan, it’s eligible for grants from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. But grant applications are due June 1, and the park board doesn’t have a detailed plan for any of the individual projects yet.
After speaking with DNR officials, park board member Christopher Lawrence said last week that it’s not likely Starke County will be able to meet that deadline. “They are all out of the office inspecting other jobs that are already being approved,” he said. “I believe she said she had one date left that they could possibly meet with us and wanted to know what our plan was. That’s where I hesitated because we really don’t have a plan besides our master plan, and that’s really not what they’re looking for. They want a specific, detailed plan of what we need a grant for.”
Lawrence added that once DNR officials complete their work on this year’s grant projects, they’ll have time to help county officials begin an application for next year’s grant cycle. But Park Board President Debbie Mix didn’t rule out the possibility of submitting an application this year, saying a special park board meeting scheduled for next Tuesday may give members a chance to discuss some plans.
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