Park Board

Kendallville Park and Recreation Department 211 Iddings StreetKendallville, Indiana 46755 Phone (260)347-1064 BOARD MEETING MINUTES May 11, 2026 6:30PM Present: Tracy Tipton, President, Kevin Jansen, Vice President, Dave Button, Jen Blackman, Dennis Nartker, Dawn McGahen, Park Director, Brian Brennan, and Grace Johnson Public Comments: Brian Brennan told the board that he spoke with a DNR official regarding the erosion along the west side of Bixler Lake. He explained their ideas on how we could improve the shoreline of the lake. He also mentioned that we should use pea gravel instead of sand on the beaches. Minutes of the April 13, 2026, meeting was approved. (Button, Jansen) Claims were reviewed and approved as presented. (Blackman, Jansen) Directors Report: 1. Dawn will be going to small claims court regarding an individual who hasn’t paid for field rental. 2. We are working with Rotary regarding shade structures at the skatepark and also the YMCA playground area. 3. The campground is open and going well so far. 4. The park has a tote of preschool graduation caps/gowns that are no longer used. Dawn asked that they be donated to a local preschool. The board agreed that this would be okay. 5. Flint & Walling donated a new pump for the irrigation system at the Cole Gardens. 6. Karl Wallace is working on his Eagle Scout project. He will be building an information board for Sunset Prairie. 7. The Y and Park are purchasing a screen print machine and will print shirts in house. The north preschool room is being cleaned so we can set it up there. 8. We have received requests to take trees from individuals to plant in the park. The board agreed that we should make sure the trees are acceptable size and type for the park. Maintenance Report: 1. Staff assisted the Street Department with tree planting throughout the city. 2. The wind and storms caused us to lose some trees and staff cleaned up lots of limbs. 3. Continue to mow the park grounds. 4. The weekly water test has started and so far, results are good. 5. Sprayed weeds and used weed eaters throughout the park and helped at the cemetery. 6. Graded and did drainage along the campground roads. 7. Sealed the mini golf course wood and hole posts. Recreation Report: 1. The Jet Ski event has been moved from June to May 30/31 due to a scheduling conflict. 2. The first Saturday in the Park was successful. There were a lot of positive comments from food trucks and vendors. 3. The 6-12-24 hour endurance run will be held at the lake this weekend. 4. Continuing to hire camp staff and have training for them next Monday. Kendallville Outdoor Recreation Complex: 1. Games and tourneys are going well. 2. NASA soccer started their season at the KORC. 3. The rain has postponed some games this year but overall, we are off to a good season. 4. Coed softball will start this Sunday. 5. Someone brought a snake to the KORC and had to be asked to leave. 6. A freezer went out and we lost porkburgers and hot dogs and had to buy a new one. Acceptance of Donations: (Button, Jansen) • Tree Fund: Dennis Nartker-$1,000.00 Board Input: Dave commended the park on their clean up after the storms. Kevin commented about how good the KORC is doing as it has been very busy and the grounds look good. Adjournment: 7:03pm (Nartker, Blackman)