Minutes - April 24, 2019
NOBLE COUNTY PARKS AND RECREATION BOARD MINUTES OF THE APRIL 24, 2019 MEETING
Present: Ray Scott, Jeff Boyle, Scott Allen, James Haddock, John Metzger
Guests: Matt Getts, KPC Media; Lori Gagen, Noble County EDC, Gene Lightner, public
The April 24, 2019 meeting of the Noble County Parks and Recreation Board was called to order by President Ray Scott shortly after 10:00 AM.
The Minutes of the March 27, 2019 meeting were approved without correction.
Old Business:
Five Year Master Plan Update:
There were no new additional updates other than minor editorial changes by Ken Hughes, Noble Co. Planner, that were e-mailed to Board members subsequent to the last meeting and prior to this meeting. These changes were approved a priori.
Noble County Recreational Council: Continued discussion occurred relative to formation of a NCRC which would primarily serve as a central clearing house for the promotion of recreational activities of interest to concerned public entities within the county. Scott and Jeff volunteered to help in the initial setup. Lori, a marketing specialist with Noble Co. EDC, has also volunteered to utilize her skills in the initial launch of this project.
Public entities that would benefit from this cross-communication of recreational events could include township trustees, representation from various city park boards, non-profits such as Noble Trails, Acres Land Trust, and Merry Lea Environmental Center, and finally, lake associations among other potential entities.
Among the first priorities of organization would be to create goals, derive a mission statement and begin to fashion the rudiments of a comprehensive plan. The idea is to foster community interest in activities that have county wide (“regional”) appeal and perhaps some activities that might even focus eventually on intercounty cooperation and participation. It is not clear at this time how the NCPB would be involved in this endeavor once it is up and running. However, the general feeling among board members is that our role would be a central one in its organization and integral to its development and overall success.
Take a Stroll Saturdays: As decided in previous meetings, this activity is being placed on the back-burner for the time being. However, the general feeling is that it could be resurrected and perhaps redefined with improved marketing within the guiding framework of the above-mentioned NCRC.
Website/Spring Photo Contest: Not much recent progress has been made here, despite considerable effort. Mechanical and logistical problems involving transmission of photo images on to various devices (tablets, cell phones and web sites) has posed problems but will be solved in due time.
Noble Trails Program: Scott announced an upcoming 5k run taking place on Sat., April 27 at 8 AM at Jean Stratton Porter. Noble Trails will also begin some preliminary work on a Kendallville-Avilla trail this summer along the old railroad bed.
Meeting adjourned at 11:00 AM. Next meeting – May 22, 2019 at 10:00 AM.
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