AVOCA — The future of the Avoca State Fish Hatchery remains up in the air, but one thing is clear, the property is much loved by the community, and the majority of people who have taken a survey about the site want it to remain as a public resource.
The hatchery was decommissioned by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources after nearly 100 years as a fish hatchery. The hatchery operation and staff was transferred to another DNR hatchery. DNR has continued to maintain the local property until a receiver can be found.
One possibility is joint city-county partnership.
In the meantime, the property has been the focus of Sustaining Hoosier Communities — a collaboration between Indiana University and Lawrence County leaders to enrich the health and prosperity of the region.
The hatchery is one of 15 projects that are being worked on by undergraduate and graduate level classes and faculty.
James Farmer, assistant professor in the Department of Recreation, Park & Tourism Studies at IU, is leading a class of students who are looking at the site's potential for public recreation.
Students have visited the site several times, one of those visits included going door-to-door to survey residents. An online survey has generated about 600 responses.
"We've really gotten a great response to the online survey, which is great considering we didn't have funds for a mail survey," Farmer said.
Some of the main goals of the survey are to understand how the site was used in the past, and by whom, from families to church and school groups.
"We also want a sense of what is the pressure point of change people are willing to accept," he said. "As humans, we're not always open to change. As things are done differently if there are infrastructure changes, what is the community's reaction to that? If usage increases, what is the level of tolerance for that? It's one thing for us to say this is a great place for XYZ, but we don't live there so it's really important to know what the community can accept."
Garold Spoonmore worked at the hatchery for 49 years, starting when he was 18. He lives in Avoca, just up the hill and a short golf cart ride away from the hatchery.
"I'd like to see it opened up to the public as a park like it used to be. People used to come there and picnic, but they can't drive to the picnic area anymore," he said. "But a lot of people do come there and walk."
In addition to developing recreation for the site, the IU students have also looked at costs associated with a potential park. Farmer said the DNR spends about $15,000-$20,000 a year on grounds maintenance. But if rest rooms are added, those costs would have to be factored in.
"If you start adding infrastructure, costs would increase, but those changes don't have to happen all at once," Farmer said. "It can be done over time and in that time the (receiver) can pursue grants or do fundraising."
Funding for the property is among the questions on the survey. One possible funding stream is to use a portion of the county's innkeeper's tax.
"Generally, parks are open and free to the public, and revenue has to come from somewhere," Farmer said. "So, we're trying to get a sense of public opinion on that."
But Farmer pointed out, parks are usually worth the investment.
"Research shows if you put in a park, the economic dividends received from it are fairly significant. There's value to putting in parks. They bring people to the community, which, in turn, brings business to the community," Farmer said.
The survey will be up through Nov. 10. Upon preliminary analysis, Farmer said the survey didn't produce anything "earth shattering," but rather confirmed what he suspected, that "people love that place. If there's one thing everyone agrees on, it's that people love the Avoca Fish Hatchery."