Lapaz town council talks town park
Lapaz—after approaching the township about the possibility of transferring ownership of the town park to Lapaz, the township voted on giving a portion of the park grounds to the town during a public hearing to discuss the issue on May 9. after a lengthy discussion, the motion passed two to one.
as of yet, the portion of the property to be gifted to the town has yet to be decided. “If I remember right, there’s dedicated parcels already. So we need to look at the actual parcels and go by those,” said attorney Tony Wagner during the Lapaz Town Council meeting on May 12. “If you’re talking about cutting something off, then you’re going to have to do a survey and apply for a split.” He went on to say that a land survey to create a new parcel will probably be necessary, due to the juxtaposition of the fire station and the park.
The decision came with the understanding that the land will continue to be used as a park. Should the town want to use the property for another purpose, the township will have the first right of refusal. The park will also contain a safe access drive that will lead up to the fire station. Going forward, the Town of Lapaz intends to apply $199,000 of Stellar Community Grant funds to repairing and improving the park. They also intend
on pursuing other grants in order to continue improvements after the Stellar funds have been expended.
Through the whole process, the town and township have maintained a good working relationship, something that Council President Roger Ecker reiterated during the meeting. “I know there have been some people who have questioned some things in the past, but a lot of those may have been misinterpreted,” he said.
The town council and the township trustees are excited to be moving forward in this process. “I’m glad we were able to pass a motion that benefits all of our community members! We can accomplish great things when we all work together,” said Township Trustee Angela Hunt. “I love that for generations to come, families will be able to enjoy a local park right here in their own community.”