Whiteland staff previews parks master plan, discusses dog park and options for town hall and public-safety space

Town staff told the Whiteland Redevelopment Commission on Sept. 11 that the town's park board is developing a comprehensive park plan and will hold a public meeting on Oct. 1 to gather further community input.

"There is a park comprehensive plan that's in process. The October meeting, which is October 1, will be open to the public for more community engagement," staff member Becca said during the meeting.

Staff said the plan team has held pop-up events to collect residents' preferences for park features and will submit the park plan to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources as part of required review. The town will host an additional public meeting before submitting the draft to DNR, staff said.

Commissioners also asked about upgrades at the town dog park, which staff refer to as "Vader Bark Park." Staff said the comprehensive-plan work will review existing parks and potential new park sites and that no final decisions have been made about relocating or expanding the dog park. Staff noted the park currently lacks monitoring and that a fob-entry system is under consideration to help manage access.

Separately, staff discussed space constraints at town hall and in the police department, and the commission and staff explored options ranging from modest interior expansion to building a new municipal or public-safety facility on land that will be deeded to the town as part of a later phase of a development project (staff said the property transfer is tied to a project timeline that could extend to 2027). Staff described a financing alternative called a build-operate-transfer (BOT) arrangement, in which a private developer builds and operates a facility for a defined period and transfers the asset to the town once municipal financing is in place.

Becca said the BOT approach can reduce change-order risk and provide flexibility around contractors and delivery: "That is another creative mechanism that we're looking at if we need" for municipal projects. Commissioners discussed the merits of designing a space specifically for police or town-hall uses so any expansion remains useful in the long term; they also raised operational concerns such as drainage in an adjacent parking lot and emergency response routing where railroad tracks could affect response times.

No formal votes were taken on park or facilities projects at the meeting. Staff said they will continue community outreach for the park plan, will explore site and financing options for municipal and public-safety space, and will return to the commission with proposals and cost estimates if the commission wishes to pursue them further.