Kimmell Park may soon have a new owner.
The city's parks board on Wednesday voted to give the facility along the Wabash River to Vincennes University so officials there can proceed with a $2.5 million facelift.
VU recently partnered with the Knox County Development Corp. in applying for a near $8 million grant from the Indiana Economic Development Corp., part of which would go to pay for the major upgrade to Kimmell Park. But local officials' hopes that the application would be successful have diminished in recent weeks.
Phil Rath, vice president for Finance and Government Relations, said grant or not, VU is ready to move forward with the project — as long as it has the city's blessing.
“This is going to be great for our community,” Rath said as he stood next to a large rendering of the post-renovation park, complete with lush landscaping, an improved public boat ramp and a raised overlook of the water.
“We want to open up the entrance, widen it,” Rath said. “We want the river to be available to people who want to see it, use it. It's a nice design, and our commitment is that it will remain open to the public.”
Mayor Joe Yochum told parks board members that he supports their giving the deed to the park to VU, although the transfer will need to be approved by the city council as well. Covenants, the mayor explained, will be put in place between the city and VU to ensure the historic park remains open to the public.
Rath assured a couple of somewhat skeptical parks board members that VU has no plans to build on the property given that it's in a flood plain. Doing so, he said, would be next to impossible because of federal standards and, financially cost-prohibitive anyway.
“This an amazing plan,” Yochum told the group. “And the city can't take care of this. We have to partner with somebody to manage it, keep it looking nice.
“This is something we have to consider,” he said urgently. “If residents are still able to use it and it helps the university attract more students, too, then it's a win-win for everybody.”
County commissioner Donnie Halter also attended the meeting to express the county's support for the project.
“We've talked about this, all three of us,” Halter said. “And anything we can do to help this along, we'll do it.”
Rath said VU has been and will continue to work closely with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources in ensuring the best possible river access to the public, and the park's existing historical elements — like the open shelter house and open fire pits, ones constructed in the 1930s as a part of the country's Works Progress Administration project — will be restored and remain.
Rath hopes to tie the upgraded park into the construction of Levee Street, a pedestrian and bicycle path being built along the wet side of the levee to allow crews with Vincennes Water Utilities better access to the earthen structure and its pump stations. That project is underway now and expected to be completed next year.
The city also next year plans to move forward with a near $1 million sprucing up of Culbertson Boulevard, one with a raised overlook, new trees, benches and lighting.
And as far as Kimmell Park's northern side, Rath said, VU's intention is to also acquire Cooper's Woods from the city to provide pedestrian access all the way to the university's new baseball diamond on Oliphant Drive.
And not only will the public have access to an upgraded park, Rath said students at VU will benefit as well. The 8.5 acre park can be used to educate students in its conservation program as well as ones studying horticulture. Student workers, he said, can help to maintain it — he expects that to be about $20,000 per year once the updates are complete — and VU police, he said, will patrol it every 30 minutes to combat what are current “safety issues.”
“This is something that is sitting right on our campus,” Rath said. “It just won't be a problem for us.”
Rath said VU will seek grants to help pay for the work. They have already applied for a $50,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
“We just feel everything is in place now to put this project together,” he said, “and we're ready to get started now.
“We're excited about it,” Rath said. “It's a quality of life issue. The park is underused. You don't see kids, moms, dads or family picnics going on down there. There are safety issues at night.
“But we want this to become a safe place to go, a fun place to go. I think you'll see festivals, so many activities that we won't be able to get everything in.”
Parks board president Dr. Frank Emert, too, expressed his overwhelming support for what VU wants to do.
“There are a plethora of programs that will benefit from this park, and the quality of life issue is obvious,” he said. “Vincennes is lacking in any real first class access and view of the river, and that’s what we need.
“This is the only river town I've ever lived in — and I've lived in three — where there is absolutely no access to the river, at least other than what we have now, which isn’t good.
“Plus, this allows us to spend the money we have on our other parks,” Emert said. “It's an amazing concept, and it's long overdue.”