People in Valparaiso still want a pool or aquatic center and still want the proposed dog park, as part of a rough draft of the department's five-year plan.

There's also a possibility that the parks department could expand to cover all of Center Township, which doesn't have its own parks department.

Valparaiso's Parks Department presented these ideas recently.

About 15 people showed for the presentation to give input.

“This is more a directional piece,” said Parks Director John Seibert, explaining the Parks Department wants to make sure it was on the right track.

There will be more specifics about how to achieve goals in the final draft, which the parks staff and consultants will present to the Parks Board at the board's Dec. 20 meeting.

Through research, community meetings and two surveys — a scientific one and an online one — the consultants identified trends of an aging population that wants more multigenerational activities, more outdoor activities, nature trails along with hiking and biking trails and a nature center.

Austin Hochstettler, of Pros Consulting of Indianapolis, said 90 percent of respondents want a pool, while the desire for special events has decreased.

Seibert said that Kirchhoff Park, Rogers-Lakewood Park and the horticultural center are in line for makeovers and would be the first of the facilities to have individual plans.

Suggestions from the audience included allowing bow hunting on the empty parks land to keep down deer population, looking to buy abandoned sites and not infringing on programs that Valparaiso University or the schools have.

The Parks Department will seek more public/private partnerships and make use of the stand-alone school gyms being built to save money and stay aware of land with the south side the priority, followed by the west, the east and then the north, Seibert said.

Beside partnerships, the department will look for ways to get revenue to maintain existing parks, a concern of residents and city leaders surveyed.

But residents won't see a recreation fee attached to their tax or utility bills, though.

Seibert said there can't be a separate fee for just the parks except for the impact fee, which is charged to new developments for projected population increases but can only be used for new parks.

For Valparaiso's series of hiking and biking trails, the consultants identified three loops, one in the center of the city, one on the east side and one on the west side.

Consultant engineer Adam Higgins of SEH of Indiana said the city needs to put paths into the neighborhoods and look to connect to outside networks, such as the planned Kankakee-Dunes trail along Indiana 49.

The consultants recommended identifying the trails better and going forward with plans to have “trailheads” where people with parking, restrooms and kiosks would be.

Seibert said that Valparaiso University students surveyed weren't aware a trail passed by their school, and he said the department would likely put the trailheads where amenities already exist, such as Foundation Meadows Park, Central Park and Valplayso.

James D. Wolf Jr. is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.