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Kosciusko County Convention, Recreation and Visitors Commission approved an advanced grant to help with electrical upgrades at Hidden Lake in Warsaw during a meeting Wednesday, Sept. 9.
Chuck McLaughlin, with the Lake City Skiers, gave the commission a run-down of what all has happened this year, while stating that next year, the City of Lakes will be hosting the Division 1 Nationals. McLaughlin said Team Canada has asked to be a part of that event and “hopes that will entice other teams to come for the weekend.”
McLaughlin asked the commission to help fund the electrical grid upgrades that are needed at the lake. Right now, McLaughlin could only offer the commission a draft of the proposal because they are waiting on a quote from NIPSCO with how much it would cost. The need for the electrical upgrade comes from the City of Lakes hosting not only the City of Lakes and the Division 1 Nationals Tournaments, but they will be hosting the 2027 IWWF World Water Ski Show Championship.
“There was a lot that went into this … right now, we have teams from Canada, Belgium, Germany, Australia, Team USA and Sweden coming to compete. It’s going to be a pretty big deal,” said McLaughlin.
He told the commission that at the next meeting in November, they will be asking for another grant for the events happening next summer and fall.
“What long-term … does upgrading the electrical mean for the ability to put on shows, host tournaments, those kinds of things?” asked Mark Skibowski, commission president.
“We put (the grid) in in 2004, and we’ve grown so much,” said McLaughlin. “We only have a 200-amp service back there. The upgrade is necessary for the lights, concessions, equipment repair building, spare parts building … almost the whole event will be livestreamed, and the worst thing you can have is the power go out during an event.”
Kathy Ray, commission member, asked what the process was to upgrade the electrical, to which McLaughlin stated that NIPSCO will pull the contracts and wiring, and they would have to hire the contractor to run the wires. Around two years ago, a NIPSCO contractor originally told them that this service would cost $30,000 to $35,000.
Skibowski asked what the timeframe would be for completing this project, which McLaughlin stated it should be done this fall if it is started this fall. The commission approved an advanced grant of $20,000 for the electrical upgrades.
CCAC, Convention Visitor’s Bureau Updates
Cori Humes, executive director with the Convention Visitor’s Bureau, requested a grant for Placer.ai. She noted since the commission's support of the program, she and her team have been able to run over 1,000 reports, and that it “has been a significant resource tool for us and those around the community.”
Humes let the commission know that the county has welcomed 6.6 million visitors, which is up by 1.2% from this time last year, and showed an average of 3.3 overnight duration stays. She did note that there is a slight increase by around $920 and it is based on the population of Kosciusko County. The commission approved the funding for the program.
Skibowski noted that the Placer.ai program data is not like Flock cameras, where there is no personal data stored, and it is not used as a way to find where “Mark Skibowski is around the county,” but it’s tracking visits to the county and basing it on the phone number, zip code or “your home base.” Humes reiterated that there is no tracking or breach of privacy used in this program.
Skibowski asked Humes to get the word out more about Placer.ai, and how it is useful to those around the county, including the smaller groups.
Megan Davis and Mike Hagy, with the City-County Athletic Complex (CCAC) told the commission that they are coming out of the five- to six-week lull and gearing up for the next six weeks to feature four separate softball tournaments. Hagy let the commission know the new programs at the CCAC have also grown, such as the soccer league growing from 140 players to 250 and girls fast pitch growing from 32 to 65.
But “it’s not all sunshine and rainbows,” as Hagy stated, and some of their equipment needs to be refurbished or rebuilt. They would like to find someone who could do some maintenance work on them and if anyone was interested to come to the CCAC and ask.
Skibowski gave Hagy and Davis kudos for paying down a significant amount of debt, and John Hall, commission treasurer, asked how much it would cost to eliminate the mortgage. Hall noted that with them paying $1,000 a month on the interest alone, it could be used to repair some of the equipment. Skibowski asked Hagy and Davis to put something together for the November meeting so this could be discussed further.
The commission also:
• Approved a $35,000 reimbursable tourism sponsorship for Lilly Center Toxin/E. Coli testing, presented by Dr. Nate Bosch. Bosch noted the testing takes place at 16 lakes around the county from Memorial Day to Labor Day each year. He also noted the level of support remained the same as what was asked last year, even though the total project cost is expected to increase for next year.
• Approved two publicity sponsorship grants totaling $1,000 for Old-Fashioned Christmas and the Potawatomi, Miami and Settler History Lives on events, presented by Mark Knecht with Oakwood Foundation Inc.’s Chautauqua-Wawasee.
• Approved a tourism sponsorship grant and a publicity grant, totaling $5,500, for the themed cruises on the Dixie Sternwheeler, presented by Senior Captain Jodie Pensinger. This request was originally tabled during the July meeting, as the commission asked for more details on the proposal as presented.
• Approved a $32,350 reimbursable tourism grant for the Kosciusko County Velo Cycling Club’s 2027 Fat & Skinny Tire Fest as presented by Nick Hauck and Mike Cusick. Hauck noted this was the biggest year they have had yet, with spectators reaching over 15,000 on one day. Cusick and Hauck also championed the usage of Placer.ai and the usefulness it had in getting their numbers.
• Approved to waive the 2025 yearly audit fee for the CVB.
• Approved to ask for $100,000 in additional appropriation funds. Hall stated the income for the KCCRVC was up a little from last year, and all hotels were paid up to date, except for one, which County Auditor Alyssa Schmucker told the commission the county attorney was looking into.
• Heard that so far this year, the county has welcomed around 492,000 visitors in August. The CVB will also be launching a new passport as the Coffee Trail because of all the coffee shops around the county.
The next meeting of the KCCRVC will be at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18.
