Seymour Mayor Matt Nicholson has appointed three new people to the Seymour Parks and Recreation Board after three members unexpectedly resigned in December.

Kendra Zumhingst, Bethany Rust and Tim Ferret all participated in their first meeting of the year Monday. The meeting was held both in person and virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

They replace President Gary Colglazier, Vice President Matt Levine and Secretary Kathy Hohenstreiter, who all voiced concerns with the direction the parks department was taking after the city returned a $100,000 grant to the Jackson County Visitor Center last fall.

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That grant was awarded to the parks department in 2019 under the leadership of former director Bob Tabeling to fund three tourism-related projects, including new ball diamonds, pickleball courts and to finish the skatepark.

Nicholson didn’t agree with how the grant was written and said all of the projects would not be able to be completed by the end of 2020. The skatepark was completed in October, but the pickleball courts and new ball diamonds won’t be finished until this spring. All three now are being funded through a capital improvement bond.

During Monday’s meeting, the board reorganized by electing Monica Boyer to serve as president and Rust to serve as vice president. Boyer joined the board last summer. The fifth member of the board is Art Juergens, who represents Seymour Community School Corp.

Zumhingst, an IT project manager with Humana, was appointed to fill a full four-year term.

“As someone who has actively participated in and coached for and been involved in park and rec, I was willing to help be a part of the decision-making for the future,” she said.

She’s excited about working to fulfill the department’s recently updated five-year parks master plan and the opportunity to bring new ideas and programming to the city, she said.

“I look forward to expanding on the work that they have done,” she said. “I want to bring a voice as someone who uses the parks and the pool and participates in programming they offer.”

Zumhingst is most excited about being involved with updating and making improvements to the Shields Park Pool and further studying the possibility of building an indoor pool facility for the community.

“As someone who uses the pool and has two swimmers, I am excited they had a public input session about it, and I’m looking forward to seeing how that pans out,” she said.

Rust, a registered nurse and co-owner of Uptown Realty Partners in Seymour, will serve a one-year term.

“There is a need for personal responsibility and ownership when being part of a small town,” she said.

She and her 9-year-old daughter, Presley, both use the parks and the city pool often and see the need for improvement and maintenance.

Instead of being a part of the problem, Rust said she wants to be a part of the solution.

“I’d like to be a part of helping our parks and rec department instead of complaining about what we don’t have without trying to help find solutions,” she said. “We all know having things to do for both adults and kids is crucial to a high quality of life and overall wellness.”

As part of the board, Rust said she is looking forward to having a voice and helping find ways to make things happen.

“I would love to see big things happen for Seymour, such as trails around town and maybe even the frequently mentioned splash pad,” she said. “I love watching all the current projects nearing completion and people being excited about it. I think everyone involved in our parks and rec department is doing a fantastic job, and I’m just excited to be a part of it.”

Ferret, family ministries director at The Point, was appointed to a two-year term. He and his family have lived in Seymour for nearly four years and have steadily been “growing” into the community, he said.

“We like to be involved and be good neighbors,” he said. “So serving on the park board seemed like a tangible way to do just that.”

With two young boys of his own at home, Ferret said he hopes to bring a parent’s perspective to the efforts of Seymour Parks and Recreation.

“We are keenly interested in having safe, quality fitness and recreation opportunities for our boys and all other families in Seymour,” he said.

As a board member, he hopes to also bring more collaborative problem-solving to the group.

“Any board goals and support for the parks department will be helped by networking and identifying strategic resources,” he said.

Ferret said he feels the parks department is active and remains open to learning how best to serve the community.

“I am excited to help keep that up in any way I can,” he said. “I don’t think any one project sticks out to me at this time, but I am excited to continue to learn about all the varied ways that the department serves Seymour.”

The Ferrets plan on participating in the youth sports programs the city offers, and Tim said he wants to find ways for the department to best serve the city’s growing Hispanic population.

Parks Director Stacy Findley said the three new appointees are great additions to the board.

“They bring enthusiasm, community involvement and board experience,” she said. “The new appointees are coming in at a great time with completion of our five-year master plan.”