TERRE HAUTE — Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett hopes the establishment of a tax-deductible municipal park foundation will enable people to donate or bequeath money to support improvement projects in city parks and also cover maintenance expenses.
“We’re working to set up a foundation for the entire park system that would help take care of those park assets,” Bennett said.
The idea is to collect private funds to help complete current and future park projects. Current projects include the renovation of the Chauncey Rose Memorial Plaza in Fairbanks Park. Bricks in the plaza are crumbling, and a roof over six large pillars needs to be replaced.
The plaza contains history about one of Terre Haute’s greatest philanthropists who, among other things, established an orphans home that was home to 3,000 children from 1884 until its demolition in 1950. He also gave $345,614 in 1875 to establish Rose Polytechnic Institute, now Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, on Terre Haute’s east side.
Chauncey Rose was born in December 1794 and died in August 1877.
Another project is to rebuild a covered seating area for the Larrison Pavilion in Deming Park. The pavilion, which once provided covered shelter for more than 200 people, was demolished by the city park department in 2002 because of structural concerns.
“That needs to be rebuilt. It was a large covered area and it used to host events there, but it is all open now,” Bennett said.
The pavilion, built in 1970, had a covered seating area of about 3,000 square feet, excluding a stage and restrooms. The covered stage remains standing in the park.
In 2005, a Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology senior class project included a design for a new covered Larrison Pavilion with a capacity to serve 250 people. That project included site design, structural design and foundation design.
Another project is the interior of the Collett Park Pavilion. The exterior of the pavilion has been improved this year, with a new roof and painting, but improvement work is needed inside, the mayor said.
“We probably always should have had a fund like this for people who want to preserve our parks to make donations. A lot of parks have already done this. We could partner with the Wabash Valley Community Foundation or have it separate. Our goal is to get it set up this year and start collecting funds next year,” the mayor said.
A recent survey done for the city, Bennett said, showed “a good response from people who stated they would contribute to such a fund. It would be tax-deductible and be structured to be worthwhile for people to donate to that,” the mayor said.
An example of a separate nonprofit organization is Friends of the Park Association of Putnam County Inc. in Greencastle. It was formed in 1995 by a group of citizens dedicated to improving recreational options. It is a standalone 501(c)(3) nonprofit group.
“We work hand-in-hand with the city park department. We go over their goals and objectives and we look at what projects we want to help out with,” said Joan Davis, a member of Friends of the Park.
“In the past, we have put in playgrounds, a skate park and we have a subcommittee called People Pathways that works on hiking and biking trails in the county. We do a couple of fundraisers in the year and it has been pretty successful,” Davis said.
Bennett said the city is not yet ready to officially roll out its foundation, as it still remains in the formation process. It even lacks an official name.
“We have to set guidelines and criteria to maintain that fund. There will be years when people give more than others, so we have to balance that out,” Bennett said.
The mayor said the fund should also be set up to allow people to donate for specific projects.
