Bargersville to hire first parks director

With the opening of Kephart Park on the horizon, Bargersville town officials are moving through the process of interviewing and hiring the town’s first-ever parks and recreation director.

Until now, Bargersville hasn’t needed the position because the three parks the town does have are small and don’t have a lot of amenities to maintain, said Dan Cartwright, town manager.

Kephart Park, a $3.5 million, six-acre park set to open in the late spring or early summer next year, will feature a splash pad, pickleball courts, restrooms, an area for grilling, a trail and playground equipment. It is the most ambitious park project for Bargersville so far, and only marks the beginning of town leaders’ plans for the future, Cartwright said.

“We’re now at a point where we need a parks director and the goal is to have a parks director on board sometime after the first of the year,” Cartwright said. “It will be the parks director’s responsibility to make sure the parks are in good shape. They will have total responsibility with programming, we’ve got trails that are going to have to be maintained; we had several miles of trails constructed last year.”

The parks director, whose salary has not yet been finalized, will be a full-time employee. The director will monitor Kephart Park’s construction, completion and opening with part-time seasonal helpers who will assist them through the summer. Work on the park began in June and is expected to wrap up in spring or summer 2023.

Town leaders prefer someone who has previous experience running a parks department, although it’s not a requirement. Bargersville officials would also prefer to hire someone who has a college degree in something adjacent to parks and recreation, has lived in Indiana and has some familiarity with the Indiana Park and Recreation Association, he said.

“We are hoping we will have someone with experience in managing a parks department,” Cartwright said. “I see in the next few years more parks and more trails. We want someone with management experience in day-to-day operations and marketing, developing new programs and a broad range of experience in managing a parks department.”

Town leaders have parks and recreation goals that extend beyond opening Kephart Park. They’ve put together a five-year parks and recreation master plan, which is published on the town’s website. The plan, which took effect this year and continues through 2026, says residents are underserved in the area of parks and recreation and lists land acquisition for future parks and trails as a priority.

“The town has a responsibility to maintain and expand its amenities with the growth it has. I can see all kinds of things happening. We need a parks director who knows what they’re doing and will go after some specific goals,” Cartwright said.

After advertising on the Bargersville and park association websites and the town’s Facebook page, town officials received about 20 applications and will conduct the first round of interviews involving four to five candidates next week. The parks board is expected to make a decision by the end of the year, Cartwright said.