Madison County looks at moving forward with ‘anchor parks’
The Madison County parks board is accepting a study that recommends the county build what it’s calling two “anchor parks” along the White River. As IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports, some hope those parks would be connected by a trail system in a multi-year project.
Locations for the two proposed parks have not been picked yet. But Ben Orcutt, president of the Madison County Parks & Recreation Board, says the aim is to have the parks provide a lasting benefit to trail goers of Madison County while work on the rest of the proposed trail is underway.
Orcutt says the board is looking at areas with existing assets like canoe docks to build off of available amenities.
“They also provide value in the short term and I think are useful, even if the trail never happens,” he said. “I think these parks are still a value add for our community.”
As of Tuesday, the feasibility study is not available to the public on the county website, unlike the 2024 parks master plan.
The Parks & Recreation Board has $4 million dollars in federal American Rescue Plan funds, which have an end-of-year 2026 deadline to be used. Orcutt says the board plans on spending all of it on the creation of the two anchor parks.
Building the planned White River trail itself is more complicated. The board planned to apply for multiple grants to help fund its construction, but Orcutt says nationwide cuts to park support have made acquiring funds more difficult.
“We have every plan and study in place now to be able to apply very quickly for these funding options,” said Orcutt. “And then all those funding options went away.”
Members of the community with property close to the White River have been outspoken about their concerns that the trail will cut through their land. Orcutt says the board has no intention of running the trail through any residences and that there are no plans to do so.
Orcutt says the next step for the anchor parks is both designing them and buying land to build them.
Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer. Contact him at thomas.ouellette@bsu.edu
