The Bartholomew County Parks Board is looking for your thoughts on ways to preserve and improve the Anderson Falls Park. You will have that opportunity at an open house they are holding next week.
The open house is a follow-up to meetings with residents near Hartsville and Columbus last year under a Purdue Extension Program called Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces. Kris Medic, with the local extension office, says that those meetings generated seven goals for the park including making it a welcoming place in regards to maintenance, safety and access, along with informational signs and wayfaring information.
Other goals identified included:
- Well-maintained trails as well as rich native flora that is free from invasive species.
- Information about the park readily available on site and at other locations.
- Community participation in park projects and on social media.
- Regular activity at the park, which discourages vandalism and other criminal activity.
- An awareness of cultural and natural history opportunities offered by the park, and having appropriate groups taking advantage of those.
- Improved funding and planning to make it possible for Anderson Falls Park to meet the future recreational needs of a growing population with an appropriately-planned public space built around an outstanding natural feature.
- Developing the park as a resource that offers enriching historical, natural, and cultural experiences in an environment that is welcoming, safe, and staffed.
Anderson Falls is a 44-acre county park that includes the falls on the Fall Fork of Clifty Creek. For more information on the falls, you can click here.
The open house will be from 3 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 7th at the County Commissioners Chambers in the Governmental Office Building on Third Street.