Westfield City Council approves creation of parks department, board
Westfield is the only city in Hamilton County that does not have a standalone parks and recreation department, which has stymied opportunities to obtain state and federal funding.
Westfield is the only city in Hamilton County that does not have a standalone parks and recreation department, which has stymied opportunities to obtain state and federal funding.
About a year ago, the City-County Council passed a resolution expressing support for a carbon credit program to finance green space preservation, but progress has been slow as the city struggled to find a cost-effective way to launch the plan.
A dispute between unlikely parties is playing out in Hamilton County Superior Court over how Carmel should fund parks and other public greenspaces.
Rusty Carr was hired to the DMD post after two separate stints as interim director. His final day with the city will be Dec. 29 and he will begin at The Parks Alliance on Jan. 2.
The group has used Placer.ai, an artificial-intelligence-based software system that partners with a wide range of mobile apps companies to measure movement using anonymous phone-tracking software.
Carpenter Nature Preserve, along Eagle Creek on the southwest side of the intersection of North Michigan Road and State Road 32, will be developed in multiple phases.
The city council voted 7-2 to approve the $50 parking fee, with Democratic council members Jocelyn Vare and Crystal Neumann voting against the ordinance.
The city expects more than 150,000 visitors will come to the park during beach season between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Another 100,000 people are anticipated during the cooler months of the year.
Plans call for the Carpenter Nature Preserve to have enhanced wetlands, woodlands and prairies, along with boardwalks, a nature-inspired playground and Eagle Creek overlooks.
The park, named after the Indianapolis-born jazz guitarist, will soon be home to the city parks system’s first covered outdoor basketball courts.
The 70-acre park along Geist Reservoir will debut April 22—about a month later than initially planned—after three years of construction. Access to the much-anticipated beach will begin May 27, with the season ending Sept. 4.
The 47-acre parcel is owned by Will Shortz, a Crawfordsville native and longtime crossword puzzle editor for The New York Times, who grew up on the land he is donating for the project.
The trail will wind and curve near the White River for 5.4 miles from East 116th Street to East 146th Street once it is completed next year.
The multiyear project will include installation of two new 69-kilovolt electric transmission lines to serve fast-growing Noblesville and Westfield.
Noblesville city councilors voted 7-2 against the proposal by Beaver Materials, which purchased 50 acres of farmland adjacent to the 66-acre park with hopes of removing gravel from the property.
The plan proposed by Beaver Materials and the Hamilton County Parks and Recreation Department would eventually add 50 acres to Potter’s Bridge Park, but many Noblesville residents have come out in opposition.
In addition, Fishers received $4.5 million and Noblesville acquired $3.1 million in funding through the Next Level Trails program to build portions of the Nickel Plate Trail north of 96th Street.
The city has pledged $1 million in infrastructure work, primarily focused on new sidewalks, lighting, and pedestrian walkways that encourage greater connectivity to the surrounding neighborhood.
The Indianapolis City-County Council’s Parks and Recreation Committee on Thursday unanimously advanced a plan to acquire four plots of land adjacent to existing parks.
County officials have discussed using former quarries to develop trails, exhibits about the limestone industry and an outdoor concert venue.