Indy Parks & Recreation Committee Meeting - November 6, 2025
Indianapolis Parks and Recreation Committee Meeting - November 6, 2025
The Indianapolis City County Council Parks and Recreation Committee convened on November 6, 2025, to address three primary proposals: the reappointment of a board member, budgetary transfers for facility improvements and urban forestry, and to receive updates from Director Brittany Crohn regarding ongoing city-wide initiatives, including food access programs and recent park renovations.
Consent Calendar
- No items designated for consent calendar; all agenda items were discussed individually.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No specific public comments were recorded in the transcript. Testimony was limited to presentations by committee members (e.g., Councillor Evans, Councillor Delaney) and city staff (Director Crohn, Deputy Director Colvin, Controller Hansen).
Discussion Items
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Reappointment of Joseph Wins (Proposal 314):
- Joseph Wins presented his history as a 25-year park professional, noting service under every Indianapolis mayor since 1969. He highlighted his intent to advocate for reuniting the park system's fragmented components (maintenance, forestry, greenways) to restore functionality as directed by the park ordinance.
- Councillor Brienne Delaney expressed full honor for Mr. Wins' service, noting she interned for him under Mayor Peterson, and offered herself as a co-sponsor.
- Councillor Jesse Brown praised Mr. Wins for having the most experience and perspective of any appointee on any committee, agreeing with his objectives, and offered himself as a co-sponsor.
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Budget Transfer and Appropriation (Proposal 338):
- Director Brittany Crohn proposed utilizing $1,178,000 in transferred funds and $3,622,000 in appropriated interest from the Lilly Endowment Grant for utilities, supplies, and contractual expenses.
- Deputy Director Don Colvin elaborated on the scope changes for the Geist Soccer Complex comfort station. He stated the facility is being moved further back from the greenway trail to the rear of the park to minimize residential visibility, expanded to six stalls and three urinals (instead of the original two stalls), and will include a mixed-use office/concession area, security lighting, and a cloud-connected camera system. He noted the project aims for spring 2026 construction.
- Councillor Evans inquired about land ownership regarding the soccer complex, confirming the land remains part of Eagle Creek Park, though a section was previously carved out for Colts operations. No opposition was expressed regarding the scope changes.
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Urban Forestry Fund Transfer (Proposal 368):
- Councilors Boots, Hart, and Barth championed a transfer of $1 million from the Department of Public Works Stormwater Management Fund to the Parks General Fund to isolate resources for urban forestry preservation.
- Controller Abby Hansen clarified that the funds, originally state income tax contributions, were placed in the stormwater fund but never spent on stormwater projects. She acknowledged that retaining them there was likely not the best accounting practice, but confirmed they are unrestricted now and intended specifically for tree and land acquisition.
- Councillor Delaney sought clarification that the money sitting in the stormwater fund was never tied to stormwater issues, confirming her understanding that it is now being moved to a dedicated fund for trees.
- Councillor Evans and Councillor Delaney both joined the proposal as co-sponsors.
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Director's Update:
- Director Crohn reported on food access efforts during the federal shutdown, noting that the "Drive and Dish" program reached capacity at six locations and highlighting partnerships with the Pacers Sports Entertainment, OPHS, and Second Helpings. She thanked her food program team and noted over 100,000 social media views on recent food assistance posts.
- Project updates included ribbon cuttings/groundbreakings for: Franklin Township community park (new playground, trails), Psalm Park (playground, pickleball, shelter, restrooms), and Holiday Park (new nature playground funded by a $3 million foundation match and Lilly Endowment grant).
Key Outcomes
- Proposal 314: Unanimously approved to reappoint Joseph Wins to the Board of Parks and Recreation (Vote: All Aye).
- Proposal 338: Unanimously approved to transfer $1,178,000 and appropriate $3,622,000 for park utilities, supplies, and contractual expenses (Vote: All Aye).
- Proposal 368: Unanimously approved to transfer $1,000,000 from the DPW Stormwater fund to the Parks General Fund for urban forestry preservation (Vote: All Aye).
- Next Steps: The Geist Soccer Complex comfort station project is tentatively scheduled to begin construction in Spring 2026.
- Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned with no further questions.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everybody. Thanks for coming. This is the Parks and Recreation Committee of Indianapolis City County Council. It's November 6th, 2025. And we're here this evening to hear proposals number 314, 338, and 368. And we're going to start out with proposal 314 that reappoints Joseph Wins to the Board of Parks and Recreation. Ms. Oh, of course, Rec. Thank you, sir. Introductions, please. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Jesse Brown representing District 13. No. Brienne Delaney, District 2 on the North Side. Jessica Jessica McCormick, District 16. Councilor Christa Carlino, District 11, West Side. Councilor Jarrett Evans, District 17, West Side. Thank you. I'm sorry I was in such a hurry to get going here. I forgot introductions. Dan Boots, District 3. I have the honor of chairing this committee, and we now shall start with proposal number 314 that reappoints Joseph Wins of the Board of Parks and Recreation. Mr. Wins, if you could please come to the podium there and explain a little bit of your intention, experience, and maybe future plans with respect to the board. Thank you. Thank you for the council to allow me to do this. My name is Joseph Wins. I am a 25-year park professional. I've been in the park system since 1969. I retired as parks director for under Mayor Bart Peterson. And I'm fortunate, I guess I'm aging myself. I I work for every mayor, starting with Mayor Luger, Bill Hartnett, Mayor Hardnut, Mayor Goldsmith, Mayor Peterson, and a little bit from Mayor Bow Mayor Ballard. So I've been around. And parks have been my passion. I understand over those years how important parks play in the role of neighborhood revitalization, crime reduction, youth development, and it's a part of the economic trend. I think one of the things I add to the system now is that some institutional knowledge as it moves into new eras and and new things. And so I'm able to bring in that national level of the national movement as things are happening in parks. Trying to, I guess, advocate for the park system. Over the years, the park system have been not disenfranchised, but have been divided. The things that need that things that that Brittany needs to make the system flourish, obviously sits in another department. And over the years, we've been able, they've been able to move those things. And one of the things I'm advocating now is how do we put this system back together? How do we bring back in park maintenance forestry, greenways, land stewardship, all those pieces that make the park system flourish. So Brittany would have an opportunity to control her destiny. And so that's that's the charge I'm on. And with that, obviously, by not having all of those things working in a harmonious way, you have a friction in the delivery of the maintenance. And that's a major concern that we have to figure out a way to put this system back together as as it is directed by the park ordinance to put those things back in to make this system function like it should. That system was basically put together on national research on how a system is to put together to deliver services. But I'm not going to give up on it because it's something I believe in.
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