Greensburg, IN — The City of Greensburg cut the ribbon for Pirate Park Wednesday morning (pictured).
Past and present city and community leaders and state officials braved chilly winds to participate in the ceremony officially opening the nine-acre green space across from Greensburg High School.
The facility, which includes a pavilion, will be used to draw out-of-town guests to soccer tournaments and other events.
Accelerate Rural Indiana – a regional partnership made up of the cities of Greensburg, Batesville, Rushville, and Shelbyville along with Decatur, Rush, and Shelby counties – received a $20 million Indiana Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) grant late last year and used $250,000 of those funds on the facility.
In addition, the Indiana Destination and Development Corporation (IDDC) and Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch awarded a $150,ooo state grant for Pirate Park construction.
IDDC CEO and Secretary Elaine Bedel, who is a Batesville native, delivered remarks at the ribbon-cutting, as did Greensburg Mayor Joshua Marsh, who acted as emcee; former Mayor Dan Manus, who started the Pirate Park project as part of the city’s unsuccessful bid to be named a 2017 Stellar Community; Mark Walsky with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation; Superintendent Tom Hunter with Greensburg Community Schools, which donated the land for Pirate Park and the pavilion; Phillip Deiwert with Visit Greensburg; Greensburg Redevelopment Commission member and City Councilman Darrell Poling; and Chris Hamm with HWC Engineering and Accelerate Rural Indiana.
Also in attendance were Accelerate Rural Indiana partners such as City of Batesville Economic Development Director Sarah Lamping, Rushville Mayor Mike Pavey, and City of Rushville Special Projects Coordinator Brian Sheehan.
Krista Harmon’s 2019 fourth-grade class at Greensburg Elementary School was asked for design ideas for the Pirate Park facility that year. Those students, who are now seventh-graders at Greensburg Junior High School, also attended and participated in Wednesday’s ribbon-cutting.
