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Big Walnut Sports Park eyed for solar eclipse viewing site
With Central Indiana expected to be prime viewing area for the April 8 total solar eclipse, Greencastle could see as many as 25,000 people visit for a closer look, the Park Board was told at its December meeting.
Because of that, the Putnam County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) has requested use of Big Walnut Sports Park on the city’s East Side as a viewing location.
City Park Director Greg Ruark reported that Eric Freeman of the CVB has reached out to him about Big Walnut hosting a viewing event, offering to assist with costs like paying for additional port-a-potties and handing out sunglasses.
“The question also came up about using Big Walnut as a one-night campsite,” Ruark told the Park Board.
Mayor Bill Dory quickly jumped into the discussion on that matter, saying “it’s definitely something we’d want to run up the flagpole with our insurance carrier.”
“I don’t know that I’d encouraged it,” Dory added, noting that the city would not be supplying electricity or water for campers and “sanitary issues” could easily arise.
“Nothing has been determined,” Ruark responded. “I wanted some feedback from you and will continue to work with Eric Freeman on it.”
Dory noted that discussions have indicated Putnam County could see 20,000-25,000 visitors from the eclipse. Local schools have already scheduled an e-learning day for April 8 to avoid buses being caught in the crush of traffic with eclipse fanatics visiting the area.
Park Board member Tim Trigg said he was “all for a viewing area” at the sports park “but not for the camping part.”
Ruark said he would keep the dialogue open and keep the Park Board posted on the matter.
Putnam County Regional Airport is accommodating fly-ins for that day, it was noted, as the state tourism industry is promoting Indiana as a great place to see the eclipse, potentially bringing up to a million people to the state and pushing up hotel rates around the big day. For example, more than 60,000 people are expected at five official viewing locations across Seymour, a city of 21,500 people. Reports indicate some hotels in that area are charging nearly $1,000 a night.
The 120-mile-wide path of totality – the zone within which observers will see the moon totally obscure the sun for several minutes, plunging the area into darkness as if it were dawn or dusk – includes the entire Indianapolis area as well as Bloomington, Muncie, Terre Haute, Evansville and many other cities. While Greencastle lies in the total eclipse viewing range, the optimum viewing zone runs on a line from Vincennes through Franklin. And while Franklin, Bargersville and Martinsville are expected to experience darkness for more than four minutes, Plainfield, for example, is expected to see a duration of 3 minutes, 49.3 seconds, beginning at 3:05.42 p.m.
Solar eclipses – in which the moon passes between the sun and the Earth, completely blocking the face of the sun – are not rare in and of themselves. However, only a small portion of the Earth lies within the path of totality for any given eclipse. The last time Indianapolis was in the path of totality was 819 years ago.
The April 8 event will be the last total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous United States until 2044.
In other business, the Park Board:
• Heard Ruark report that he met with Main Street Greencastle officials recently concerning an initiative to make the downtown more inviting and business friendly. “It gave me another opportunity to emphasize our need for property on the north side of the city,” Ruark said. “Hopefully next year we can identify some property (for a park) on the north side of town.”
“The (county) commissioners seem favorably disposed to providing some park property” at the old Jones School site should they develop a courthouse annex there, Mayor Dory said.
• Learned that “everything is good” with the Jaycee Park lake dam following an inspection by local engineer Garth Hughes. Mayor Dory explained that the Department of Natural Resources used to come out and inspect such local dams but that responsibility has now fallen to local government. The city’s insurance may require an inspection every two years, Dory said.
• Heard Ruark report that organizers of a fall 2024 slingshot tournament have their eyes on Big Walnut Sports Park as a potential site. Ruark said he was advised by the CVB that the event could occur the first week of October. “Put it on your radar,” Ruark said, promising an update for next month. “I’d like to know how many people to expect, things like that,” board member Trigg said.
• Approved among $11,131 in monthly claims a bill for winterizing the aquatic center from DC Services for $1,447, as well as $2,190 for portable bathroom rentals from Johnny Quick for the duration of the park bathrooms renovation project.
• Learned that the bathroom renovation project is “moving along” with the doors up and painted. “They flushed the toilets and they work,” Ruark said. “They’re moving as quickly as they can as supplies come in. It shouldn’t be much longer.”
• Heard Recreation Director Ashley Crady report that more than 40 children took part in the recent Nerf Domination event last month. The next event is the Saturday, Dec. 16 Breakfast at the North Pole at 3 Fat Labs event center from 10-11:30 a.m. The cost is $10 per person.
Joining Ruark, Crady, Mayor Dory and board member Trigg for the 40-minute meeting were board members Cathy Merrell, Joanna Muncie and Doug Hutchison and City Council liaison Stacie Langdon.
The next regularly scheduled Park Board meeting is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 3 at the park office at Robe-Ann Park.