West School property not being purchased by County Park Board

It was the plan of the Marshall County Park Board to purchase the West School property, located at 9971 SR 17 in West Township. However, as stated at the Thursday, Sept. 10 board meeting, that plan is not going forward.

“The realtor said that the seller had another offer that she was working with and, at this time, it had already been accepted. So, for now, that’s on hold,” said Board Secretary Deb Vandemark.

Board President Greg Hildebrand confirmed this saying that the project is on hold until the sale is final.

The board also discussed development of a mission statement. Hildebrand read a mission statement that was provided by Vice President adam Thada.

“The mission of the Marshall County Parks and Recreation is to protect and promote the county’s places of natural and cultural heritage. I

think that’s a good leading off point,” Hildebrand said.

“That pretty much sums up what we discussed,” said Board Member Richard Markley.

Vandemark agreed that it was a great start, but asked if the statement would be expanded upon. Hildebrand replied that it was subject to change, especially when the five-year plan begins to take shape.

Vandemark suggested adding the following “The mission of the Marshall County Park and Recreation Board is to preserve, protect and manage natural, cultural, and recreational resources within a diverse park system. We will provide educational opportunities through facilities and programs for all citizens in Marshall County to further their awareness and enjoyment of the resources. We will work with the DNR, state, city, and towns to connect trails within the county. The board encourages community involvement in the development of the building of the county park projects.”

Markley asked if specific projects should be mentioned in the mission statement. Vandemark replied that the portion regarding trails was mentioned because “our towns and our city have already started their projects and we need to kind of connect the whole thing together.”

Markley still thought that the trail section be placed in the five-year plan instead of the mission statement.

The Park Board didn’t take any official action to adopt this as the mission statement at the meeting.

As far as the Five-year Plan, Vandemark listed the West School property project, Memorial Forest, Mill Pond project, kayak launches, preserving the historical cabin.

As far as the West School project, Markley thought that the project should be itemized for each year. “You could make that (the entire project) almost into a five-year plan, just that one project,” he said.

“It would have been a great one,” Vandemark replied.