The future NineStar Park will consist of over 40 acres of land that was donated by the utility cooperative to the county.
The future NineStar Park will consist of over 40 acres of land that was donated by the utility cooperative to the county.
Hancock County leaders are asking for the public’s opinions on what they want to see in a 40-acre parcel set to become a new park.

Hancock County Parks and Recreation Board will hosting an open house Feb. 19 for residents to give their input on the future NineStar Park at Spring Lake.

The county recently acquired 40 acres from NineStar Connect on South County Road 300 West, with hopes to transform the land into a park.

Hancock County’s park system over unincorporated areas of the county is still in its infancy. The county park board formed in the summer of 2024, and it has purchased the Shirley Heritage Trail and plans to expand it. The future NineStar Park would be the county’s first park in its unincorporated territories.

“It’s the community’s park, and we just want to let everyone know that we want to hear from them,” park board president Miriam Rolles said.

Rolles added that even though there will be some limitations on what could be in the park based off of the landscape itself and the floodways, the open house will allow members of the public the opportunity to shape the park into what they want to see, as well as what events they would want to see in the park.

Current plans for the future park call for a parking lot at West County Road 100S and a proposed three-quarter-mile trail that would serve as a connector path to the Pennsy Trail. This path would pass through a neighboring parcel NineStar still owns, and the county has applied for a $400,000 grant from the state Department of Natural Resources to help fund the trail.

Rolles said an idea she had for the park was to have designated gazing pads for educational astronomy and programming, and potentially making the future park into an International Dark Sky Place. The IDSP program certifies areas, such as communities and parks, that preserve and protect dark skies from light pollution.

“It would be a great opportunity for people to learn about light pollution and turning their lights down and not shining their lights,” she said. “If we can have one park that might be a Dark Sky park, that might get the momentum going for people to pay attention to their lighting habits.”

There is also a survey county residents can take to offer suggestions for educational programs and other planned activities at the proposed park. Take the survey using this link: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/bea481e24f6c482dac3f8366dc1a1643.

The conversation will be facilitated by Lais McCartney, agriculture and natural resources educator at Hancock County Purdue Extension. The open house will start at 10 a.m. and will be in Commissioners Court (Room 101), Hancock County Courthouse Annex, 111 American Legion Place, Greenfield.
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