AVOCA – Avoca Park and Recreation of Marshall Township took delivery of two lawnmowers Friday morning to help with the maintenance and upkeep of the newly formed park.
Several volunteers were on hand to receive the lawn mowers and receive information on how the lawn mowers operate from Lawrence County Equipment.
“We want to make sure the volunteers who will be operating them are trained on them before use, make sure they are used safely,” said Sam Bond Avoca Park and Recreation of Marshall Township. “The lawnmowers were purchased from Lawrence County Equipment who worked with us in choosing the right mowers for what we need, and well as a good price for the purchase.”
Avoca Park and Recreation of Marshall Township received a grant from ROI in the amount of $125,000. The park purchased a 60-inch zero-turn Kabota and 48-inch lawnmower in the amount of $14,000.
“ROI has been very helpful to us, if there is any questions they have responded the same day in our inquiries in the administration of this grant,” Bond added.
“It has been nice to see the support on so many levels to get this thing off the ground. The Avoca Park and Recreation have been two years in the making in which I have been watching this property. The state and county did not want to mess with this, because this is a very expensive project. My township is the last rung before this park was let go, and I did not want to see this go,” said Bond.
Avoca Park and Recreation of Marshall Township partnered with the City of Bedford to obtain the grant and added credibility to the efforts of restoring the old Avoca Fish Hatchery.
There are more than 4 acres the group of volunteers has to mow, trim and upkeep for park users to utilize several facilities on the property.
Currently, there are approximately 12 – 20 volunteers who work trying to keep up the grounds at the park.
“The first year, it was very bad in trying to get the grounds back to where there were not as many weeds and undergrowth,” said Carl Holmes who volunteers with the group.
Marshall Township officials have established a tax levy that will be passed down to taxpayers next year that will generate some revenue to help with maintaining the park grounds.
However, the group will still seek grants and create ways to generate revenue for the park. Park officials state it will take a large amount of money to keep the park maintained.
Other fundraisers are in the planning stages to generate revenue.
There are several facilities on the grounds such as the house, office building, and volunteers will construct a playground for children to use.
An old garage will be converted into a shelter house which will be available to rent when completed. The other shelter house located on the grounds is available for rent now by contacting Marshall Township trustee Suzi Evans.
Most of the park picnic areas and benches are on a first come first serve basis for those who want to picnic or just enjoy the sun. Several trails and walking areas are also available.
About the ROI Grant
The Ready Communities competitive grant program empowers counties and communities to strategically plan for, develop, and implement projects and programs that build quality of place, grow regional capacity for workforce development and attraction, and improve the attributes and amenities that make the Indiana Uplands a desirable place to live, work, and play. ROI’s Ready Communities initiative has awarded $3 million in implementation grants supporting a total of 17 projects in nine counties.
For more on this grant program, click here.
What is ROI?
Regional Opportunity Initiatives (ROI) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to advance economic and community prosperity in the 11 counties of the Indiana Uplands (Brown, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange, Owen, and Washington counties). ROI is growing potential and possibility through a focus on advanced industry sectors, regionalism, transformative school and workforce redesign, and placemaking strategies. To learn more about ROI’s programs, click here.
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