Richmond parks board approves new trail-and-service leader contract, pole-barn gate addendum and interlocal for floodplain services
May 22, 2026 | Richmond City, Wayne County, Indiana
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The Richmond Parks and Recreation Board on Wednesday approved a set of contracts and agreements to support maintenance and permitting work, including the hiring of a new trail and service leader and a short-term interlocal arrangement for floodplain administration.
The board approved Contract 30/2026 to hire Ken Eckert as trail and service leader and adopted an addendum to the pole-barn contract to add safety gates to the maintenance facility. The board also voted to enter an interlocal agreement with the county to use the county’s certified floodplain administrator for the gorge project and for a required "no rise" certification that DNR permitting will require.
Agency official (Speaker 2) said the Eckert contract reflects changes negotiated to emphasize environmental protections in trail work and described corresponding scope edits that add erosion-control language. "He really wants to make sure that there's a very big emphasis on, in the environment," Speaker 2 said, citing exhibit A in the contract.
On the pole-barn addendum staff described a needed circulation change in the facility’s parking area: a gate will be reworked and a second gate added to permit vehicles and trailers to drive through rather than turn around. Staff noted an additional cost for the gate work (a $6,500 add-on was mentioned for a single gate) and presented the overall addendum as a not-to-exceed amendment to the existing contract.
Regarding floodplain services, Speaker 2 said the city currently lacks a certified floodplain administrator and the county has offered to make its administrator available on an interlocal basis. "We really need this floodplain services to happen sooner than later for the no rise certificate for the DNR so we can start our phase 2 and start some construction," the official said.
Votes and outcomes: the motions to approve the agenda amendment, the pole-barn addendum, the trail-and-service-leader contract and the interlocal each passed by vocal assent in the meeting (recorded as "Aye" in the transcript).
The board approved Contract 30/2026 to hire Ken Eckert as trail and service leader and adopted an addendum to the pole-barn contract to add safety gates to the maintenance facility. The board also voted to enter an interlocal agreement with the county to use the county’s certified floodplain administrator for the gorge project and for a required "no rise" certification that DNR permitting will require.
Agency official (Speaker 2) said the Eckert contract reflects changes negotiated to emphasize environmental protections in trail work and described corresponding scope edits that add erosion-control language. "He really wants to make sure that there's a very big emphasis on, in the environment," Speaker 2 said, citing exhibit A in the contract.
On the pole-barn addendum staff described a needed circulation change in the facility’s parking area: a gate will be reworked and a second gate added to permit vehicles and trailers to drive through rather than turn around. Staff noted an additional cost for the gate work (a $6,500 add-on was mentioned for a single gate) and presented the overall addendum as a not-to-exceed amendment to the existing contract.
Regarding floodplain services, Speaker 2 said the city currently lacks a certified floodplain administrator and the county has offered to make its administrator available on an interlocal basis. "We really need this floodplain services to happen sooner than later for the no rise certificate for the DNR so we can start our phase 2 and start some construction," the official said.
Votes and outcomes: the motions to approve the agenda amendment, the pole-barn addendum, the trail-and-service-leader contract and the interlocal each passed by vocal assent in the meeting (recorded as "Aye" in the transcript).
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