HANCOCK COUNTY — Add water.
Following the creation of a county parks board, which seeks input from community members, Hancock County commissioners are hearing that residents are looking for waterfront grounds to enjoy the great outdoors.
“As you can tell from a lot of the Parks Board information, people are wanting some public waterfront type of area,” Hancock County Engineer Gary Pool said. “Now, we’ve got a nice swimming hole here at Riley Park, but it’s not a 20-acres lake.”
Pool told commissioners at their meeting Tuesday that he has his eye on two sites that have several acres of water, which might someday be available for county purchase for residents to use.
The county does not currently own either piece of property, but Pool is hopes at least one of the areas will be available for purchase soon.
One piece of property is nearly 100 acres, Pool said, and has a large 20-acre pond owned by a county family located off of North County Road 100 West.
The family who owns the land was kind enough to come to the office, Pool said. He explained to them that it probably wouldn’t be a great business deal, but the county would like to consider buying the land from the family.
“He knows we’re not, and he’s not going to make a gillion dollars, but if he’s feeling charitable to an extent and wants to make a deal with us, we’d like to talk about that with him,” Pool said.
Pool called the water on the property a “giant pond” and stated “people have been asking for that.”
For years, Pool noted, the people who grew up in Hancock County always had spaces to go play in the woods or go fishing, but he said many young people, including young adults, just don’t have access to places like that anymore.
“Kids going fishing somewhere with your dad in a pond — there just isn’t a place to do that nowadays unless you go a long ways,” Pool said.
Pool noted he’d like to structure an agreement in which the current owner retains use of the land until he dies, but in which the county purchases the land and receives it after the owner’s passing.
The other piece of land has two ponds but less water, a 10-acre pond and 5-acre pond. It is currently set up in a trust, Pool said. The property is off East County Road 550 North.
“That’s in a trust out of Pennsylvania; someone there bought it,” Pool said. “I’m gonna see if the people in that trust might be willing to entertain a deal with the county for that.”
Pool told commissioners he planned to reach out to Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR). His goal is to work on a land grant to help purchase the properties.
“We’re just going to do it inside the highway department if we can get it,” Pool said. “Once we get a price, I will then come back to you … if we want to participate in that because we’ll have to find a 20% match.”
Pool noted there are several funds the money could come from, including the county Redevelopment Commission.
Pool said buying the properties will cost millions of dollars, but the places are grounds that can be used by county residents for a long, long time.
“So I recommend that we chase it,” Pool said.
The first step is making sure all parties are open to a deal for the land. Pool then recommended at least one of the commissioners go with him to speak to DNR to “politic the process through” if things fall in line.
Commissioner Jeannine Gray asked Pool, should the deals work out, how that might change the county’s liability. Pool said his biggest concern right now is getting the land secured but didn’t feel the liability would be too costly.
“I don’t know,” Pool said. “I don’t imagine it would be heavy … The good is far going to outweigh any risks.”
Pool noted they won’t be creating anything associated with the properties. They’ll basically be focused on the natural features already present.