Bylaws approved for a Chesterton Park Foundation

“The creation of a park foundation has long been sought by the Park Board as well as friends of Chesterton’s municipal parks,” the Town of Chesterton said. “Park foundations have the potential to act as the catalysts of significant capital improvements to a park system’s holdings. The Porter County Park Foundation, for example, was instrumental in the establishment of the Westchester Migratory Bird Sanctuary, before that site and additional acreage was transferred to a separate not-for-profit.”

The Town of Chesterton also gave the following specifics on how the Park Foundation will work:

POWERSTo that end, the Chesterton Park Foundation has the following powers, among others:

*To receive any real or personal property, tangible or intangible, by gift, grant, devise, or bequeath from any individual, government entity, foundation or corporation, either public or private.

*To make grants, gifts, payments, or monetary or non-monetary contributions for exclusively charitable or educational purposes for the benefit of the Park Department.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The membership of the Chesterton Park Foundation shall be comprised only of its Board of Directors, numbering between three and seven, with the following mandatory appointments:

*The Chesterton Clerk-Treasurer.

*One member of the Park Board.

*A citizen appointed by the Park Board.

*The Chesterton Park Superintendent, in a non-voting, ex officio capacity.

Any other directors shall be similarly appointed by the Park Board. Term: Two years.

AUDIT

The accounts of the Chesterton Park Foundation may be audited annually, as of the close of business on Dec. 31, by a certified public accountant.

NEXT STEP

As the necessary next step, articles of incorporation are being filed with the Office of the Indiana Secretary of State, in order actually to create the entity of the Chesterton Park Foundation.