IN SR0017

The Indiana Senate recognizes the Lake County Parks and Recreation Department (LCPRD) on its 50th anniversary, with the first board meeting held on June 11, 1968, at the Criminal Courts Building in Crown Point with Ernest Niemeyer as first president

LCPRD has grown from one park of less than 300 acres in 1972 to nearly 7,000 acres of open space, hundreds of programs, 100-plus miles of trails, and 1,000,000 annual visitors

Major accomplishments include the Grand Kankakee Marsh County Park (2,000 acres of restored wetlands), Buckley Homestead County Park (600 acres with observatory and telescope), Gibson Woods Nature Preserve (130 acres), Deep River Waterpark (second largest municipally owned in the country), and Lemon Lake

LCPRD generates 65 percent of its budget through user fees from revenue-generating facilities including the Deep River Waterpark, Turkey Creek golf course, and Cedar Creek golf course

The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit copies of this resolution to the Lake County Parks Board