Gary Pool, Hancock County engineer
Provided photo
By Lacey Watt
HANCOCK COUNTY — Hancock County engineer Gary Pool spoke about a potential idea to create more recreational space for the community of Hancock County in future years at the Aug. 29 joint commissioner and council meeting.
Pool shared that they hope to be able to buy land in 2024 and allow that land to grow over for a couple of decades, essentially into a forest. After that growth, then trails would be added for the community to use.
The specific area that Pool had shared would be in the 300 N area. If those current landowners do not want to sell, Pool shared that they would look to purchase other land in the area.
“We want to secure the land now. We want to have several acres of public space available to the citizens of Hancock County,” Pool said, adding that many people are moving into that area.
For 2024, they are looking to potentially purchase more than 100 acres of land. The money to purchase the land comes from the TIF capture. After other purchases such as fire trucks and roads and utilities, they are at a point where they would like to start buying amenities that everyone in the county can use, such as public land. Pool also mentioned ideas like the education center, which is coming to the county in 2026.
“The factories need more people to move here and to work there, so providing these amenities helps them and helps everybody in the county,” Pool said.
Pool shared that, hopefully within the decade, 90% of people in the countycould have a park or some kind of public land that they can get to within two miles of their home.
There would also be the idea of having two pocket parks, which is essentially an area with picnic tables where the public can sit and utilize, such as getting some shade or having a picnic, Pool said. The idea of a pocket park would be somewhere between one and 10 acres.
Pool shared that Jacob Schramm Nature Preserve in New Palestine is a good example of what they are trying to achieve.
“My roads will eventually turn to dust. We’ll have to keep fixing them. Firetrucks wear out… but if we get the land for the public, they can use it for 200 years, 300 years … forever,” Pool said.
Being adjacent to Indianapolis, Pool said that the county is eventually going to grow regardless of what they do so they are trying to get this established and set up now. Even if they can’t do anything immediately with the land, they will have it in the future so that when the time comes, they can decide on what to do for the benefit of people in the county.
The cities in the county provide different amenities such as water parks or water features. and Pool shared they do a great job at providing those; however, the county is not set up for that but is set up to help provide wilderness.
Pool shared that he is excited about the idea and, being a boy scout and a soldier in the past, he enjoys walking out in the woods and has seen other people enjoy it as well.
“With so much technology and stuff now it would be nice to have the opportunity to go walk in the woods, and people don’t have that opportunity now really,” Pool said.
