Friday morning Marshall County Blueberry Festival Vice-President Phil Martin delivered the following statement to the WTCA studios. This is their response to the City and Tennis Committee’s statement last week on the “pause” of the new Hunter Tennis Complex.
The Blueberry Festival Executive Committee welcomes the decision of the Mayor of Plymouth and the City Administration to pause its funding and placement of the new Hunter Tennis Complex in Centennial Park. As the park board meeting held on August 4th made clear, additional input from the community is desired and needed regarding the funding, siting, and construction of the complex.
For its part, the Festival has been concerned from the initial stages of development that the present proposed site, in the field north of the existing tennis courts, will interfere not only with the daily recreation of children, soccer players, and others, but may also have a detrimental impact on the Festival balloon glow, fireworks, carnival, and Hoosier Old Wheels car show. Each year these events help attract a large number of Festival-goers, in turn benefiting numerous businesses, raising funds for non-profit organizations, and spotlighting Plymouth and Marshall County.
The Festival wishes to thank the Mayor, City, and Park Board for the use of Centennial Park over Labor Day weekend and cooperating in the planning and implementation of one of the largest festivals in Indiana. Although the festival committee is currently focused on the 48th Annual Blueberry Festival at the end of this month, it looks forward to meeting the city and park board officials, the tennis club, and other stakeholders to resolve any issues in a manner satisfactory to all concerned.
