Lancaster Park has seen a flurry of activity lately! Restrooms are taking shape, and the pavilion siding is going up. The barricade to differentiate the parking lot from the maintenance drive is finished, and the grass is coming in beautifully. Special thanks to the amazing street department crew for patching up some of the worst areas of our parking lot so that the park will be usable this winter for sledding. We can’t wait for the bids to come back to get it entirely replaced next spring.
Speaking of the new parking lot at Lancaster Park, the City of Bluffton is now accepting bids for this, as well as the new pickleball courts and the last mile of the Interurban trail.
General plans and specifications: Complete digital project bidding documents are available at www.questcdn.com. Quest CDN will serve as the Issuing Office and maintain the plan holder list. Digital Bidding Documents may be downloaded by inputting Quest project number QuestCDN eBidDoc #8771507 for the Pickleball and Parking Lot at Lancaster Park or by inputting Quest project number QuestCDN eBidDoc #8768165 for the Interurban trail. Back-to-back Pre-Bid Meetings will be held at 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. local time Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023, at 128 East Market Street, Bluffton, Indiana, in the Parks Department Room.
The Parks Department is now accepting 2024 pavilion rentals for the months of January—April. If you want to book your winter/spring event, please call 824-6069. May—December 2024 rentals will be accepted starting on Jan. 2. Pavilion rental rates can be found on the city website at https://tinyurl.com/mrxd9hnh.
Anyone wanting to know more about the Wabash Riverbank erosion is invited to join the Bluffton Parks Department and Stantec on Oct. 18 at the indoor pavilion at Washington Park starting at 5:30 p.m. All meetings are open to the public, and interested parties will learn about stabilizing the Wabash River streambank and present any concerns, ideas, or suggestions. Light refreshments will be served.
Our friends at the Ossian Parks Department have their last season concert today, Saturday, Oct. 14, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Archbold Wilson Park. Bring a few dollars for the evening’s food truck while you enjoy the band Gunslinger.
We want to give a special thanks to 3 Rivers Federal Credit Union, who braved the cooler temperatures to give the storage building at Lion’s Park a fresh coat of paint. This is a huge task that they were able to knock out in only 3 hours. We are so thankful for the help.
We also want to thank the American Legion Auxiliary Post 111 and Paddlefish Solar for donating to the Boo in Bluffton event. We are very excited to see nearly 2,000 people on Halloween night. The list for Boo in Bluffton, so far, includes:
• Downtown 5 to 6 p.m.: City Hall (Mayor’s Office), Body Magic Massage, The Meeting Place, Jerry Flack and Associates,Archbold & Lewis Insurance, Lifewise Academy, Dollar General, American Salvage, The Broken Vessel Sign Co., Balance Massage Therapy, Wells County Republicans, Wells County Land Title, 1st Source Bank, Elks Lodge 796, Welches All Vehicle Repair, and Flagstar Bank.
• In the City Gym 5 to 6 p.m.: Scooter’s, Bi-County Services, State Farm/ Ben Barman, WEG, Peyton’s Northern, Pharaohs Car Club, Best Day Travel, Optimist Club, SCAN Wells CO. Prevent Child Abuse Council, Hershey Salty Snacks, Sonlight Kids Ministry, 20/20 Custom Molded Plastics, and Valero.
• Outside along the west side of City Hall: First Reformed Church (Trunk or Treat), Park Community Church, EMS, Friends of the Shelter, and American Axle.
• Parking lot across from City Hall: Pharaoh’s Car Club will do a trunk or treat event.
• Outlying (6 to 7 p.m.): Christian Care, Subway, The Mattress & Furniture Store, and Kroger.
Have a great week!
