A rainy week has again slowed progress on a downtown park that is under construction south of the farmers market parking lot in Franklin.
Youngs Creek Park was hoped to be ready to host the Franklin Fall Festival this weekend, but setbacks early in the process to shore up the ground underneath the amphitheater and weather delays set the project back a few months, said Chip Orner, the city’s parks and recreation director.
The annual festival, set for 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, will instead be in its traditional setting around the Johnson County Courthouse one last time. Halloween Town, set for 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 23, will also be on the courthouse square.
Part of the $9 million park is expected to be finished by mid-November, with the playground equipment, bathrooms and parking lot available for use later this fall and winter. The rest of the park, including the city’s first splash pad, an amphitheater that can seat 5,000 people, eight pickleball courts, walking trails and vendor space will open in the spring, Orner said.
Right now, the playground, which will be the largest in the city, is under construction, the splash pad is about 60% done and vendor areas are almost complete, along with the performance area of the amphitheater, he said.
Work on the irrigation system for the amphitheater’s lawn seating, and paving for the parking lot is expected to begin soon. Work on the pickleball courts will begin later this fall, Orner said.
The parks department is planning an opening celebration on May 20, which will be the first event with the park fully open to the public. Details on that event, as well as a full schedule of concerts, movies and festivals to be held at the park, will be shared in January, he said.
Plans for the park were set in motion after businesses formerly at the site flooded severely for the second time in 2017. Once it opens, the park’s green space will function as a sponge to absorb water from annual flooding at Youngs Creek. City officials broke ground in the summer of 2020, about a year after Franklin bought and demolished the final pieces of property needed to make way for the park, which is mostly funded with tax increment financing, or TIF, dollars, but also with the help of a $250,000 grant from the American Water Charitable Foundation for the splash pad, dubbed Spray Park.
The American Water Charitable Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the parent company of Franklin’s water provider, locally owned Indiana American Water. The grant is highly competitive and was awarded to just two communities served by the national water utility. Indiana American Water will also help the city connect Youngs Creek Park and the Franklin Greenway Trail along Jefferson Street by creating a small park around its downtown water tower and connecting the two sections of the trail. The company plans to remove the fence around the water tower, build a shelter and create an outdoor educational area to teach passerby about the water system.
The utility is also working with Franklin’s Public Art Advisory Commission on the project to beautify the water tower with a mural, which is still under design.
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Franklin Fall Festival
Details: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, downtown Franklin
What: From the early morning hours to the last blast of fireworks, this year’s Franklin Fall Festival will have people feeling the excitement with a wealth of activities, food, drink and vendors of all kinds to keep people engaged.
Put on your dancing shoes for Rock Around the Block and raise money for the Moyra McCain Memorial Foundation. Take in performances from the Style Dance Academy, Franklin Community High School drama club’s cast of “Cinderella” and LeRose Dance Academy. Line the streets as the traditional parade winds through downtown.
Silly Safaris gets you up close and personal with wild animals, while entertainers Hill Valley Ramblers, Hank Ruff and Clayton Anderson keep the crowd rocking. The day tops off with a fireworks display over downtown.
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