Talk of the Town - Whitley County

(Talk of the Town file photo by Jennifer Zartman Romano) Boats zip across Shriner Lake, at Tri Lakes, last spring. The Tri Lakes Property Owners Association is hoping to forge a greater relationship with the county and, perhaps, one day expand the community's park space.

By Jennifer Zartman Romano

Tri Lakes Property Owners Association president Todd Nichols appeared before the Whitley County Commissioners a short while ago seeking ways the entities can work and communicate more effectively in the future.
Nichols said he felt there were common goals between the county and the lake community's residents. Namely, having a role in the future of the former Hatchery and State Camp properties at Round Lake. The properties were given to the county by the state recently.
"It is an exquisite piece of property," Nichols said of the State Camp property, a hilly, tree-lined property with over seven acres on the north shore of Round Lake. Operated for many years as the State Camp, the land has several buildings, a park area and a beach.
Nichols and the TLPOA are hopeful that the properties could become part of a larger Tri Lakes County Park. Currently, the Tri Lakes County Park is a small area located off Hatchery Road with a play area for children. That park is currently the county's only community park.
"I guess I struggle with should the county be in the park business," Commissioner Don Amber said. Currently, the county provides $1500 per year from CEDIT funds for the small park's care and maintenance.
Nichols said there is cooperative action taken in other communities with county parks so that no burden is on any one group.
"We don't want to straddle anyone with an incredible financial or labor problem," Nichols said. "We want to do this efficiently."
"One of the biggest headaches we are going to have is those buildings," Commissioner Tom Rethlake said. "The worst thing I can see is for the county to take ownership of it and for those buildings to fall down." Nichols responded saying that the buildings were in good condition and that thousands of dollars had been put into the former State Camp on Round Lake and that those buildings had been used daily for years prior to the agreement with the county and the state.
"We're going to drive hard to find other forms of resources," Nichols said, adding that the board has "tens of thousands of dollars" in their coffers and if given the opportunity, they could seek more for continued care of the parks.
Nichols said the TLPOA is currently considered as a club, but they hope to become more of a public entity in the future, aiding efforts to seek funding and grants for park care if given the opportunity.
Nichols said his biggest goal in attending the meeting Monday was to begin to pave an open line of communication and spirit of working together for what's best for the county's properties at Round Lake, for residents and for the county as a whole.
Commissioner George Schrumpf, a Tri Lakes resident, will begin attending the TLPOA meetings and become more familiar with their interests and future goals as they pertain to the organization and the county.