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Stephanie Wiechmann
According to Muncie Mayor Dan Ridenour, within six months or earlier, Muncie will own 13 acres of land on South Tillotson Avenue along Buck Creek.

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Dan Ridenour
I've already paid the, ah, the earnest money, the option money.

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Stephanie Wiechmann
The land was offered by a developer who, Ridenour says, will put shops and restaurants in next door, which are intended to service the new county justice center down the road. The urban nature park concept includes an about five and a half acre lake that Ridenour wants to turn into a fishing spot, with several piers surrounded by a walking trail.

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Dan Ridenour
I didn't want it to become a pay lake, a private pay lake. I like an urban fishing lake with lots of trees and paths that walk through the trees. And, if we can get lucky, maybe come up with some funding for, a nature learning center of some type.

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Stephanie Wiechmann
Ridenour will pay for the land out of the Economic Development Tax Fund, commonly known as EDIT, because the purchase price is $ 25,000. He says he doesn't have to get City Council approval for the purchase. That fund will also pay for the improvements to make the site a park, but not right now.

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Dan Ridenour
I have been told how much, what I envision would cost, and so we may have to scale it back a little bit. My EDIT funds are really pretty much, they're tied up for the next three years. On the four parks that were we're doing major improvements to, unless we were able to put together through grants, or some foundations, a way to do it sooner.

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Stephanie Wiechmann
The mayor announced the move the same week that another city park is in the news, after a proposal from the YMCA to lease Tuhey Park to build its new headquarters there. It's a proposal Ridenour supports, but that many residents spoke out against at a public meeting. Ridenour says the opportunity to buy the land on South Tillotson came up in February or March, and he says he didn't hear about the YMCA proposal until May. In Muncie, Stephanie Wiechmann, IPR news.