New Parks Director Brandon Bennett grew up around Forest Park; now he is running it.
When Brandon Bennett grew up in Noblesville, he lived on Woodview Drive in Monterey Village – two streets away from Forest Park.
“I grew up in the park. I had such great experiences here. I hope to pass those on to everybody else,” the new director of Noblesville Parks and Recreation said. “If I look back now, I’d never figured I’d be here. It’s really humbling.”
Bennett began working for Noblesville Parks in 1995 as an intern.
“There were only two of us working back then,” he said.
He worked on and off for the next couple of years in the evenings at Noblesville parks. He also ran security at Klipsch Music Center for one full season before using his degree as program director at the Boys & Girls Club in Lebanon in 1998.
“(Former parks director) Don Seal called me in and said the recreation coordinator was leaving and (asked) if I would be interested. I said, ‘absolutely,’ and started in June 1998,” he said. “I don’t know if I could ever thank him (enough).”
A people person, Bennett said his favorite part of the job is being around the people he works with and getting out interacting with the public. He said his ultimate responsibility is to deliver to the community what he inherited.
“I really didn’t know what I wanted to do in school. Some people are passionate about math and science; mine’s people,” he said. “It’s a dream I don’t think I know I had. I love being able to look out my window and see people enjoy the parks the way I did and do.”
West Gateway Park
Although neither has been officially named, the parks department is working to create two new facilities – West Gateway Park and Eastside Park.
The six-acre park near White River is a joint project led by Deputy Mayor Michael Hendricks.
“So many city departments are working as a team – planning, engineering, economic development, the mayor and parks,” Bennett said. “We’re all working as one team on that.”
Officials said the park is important because it is the first thing people will see coming from the west into downtown Noblesville.
“There’s such a ginormous impact on the community. It’s important for us as a group that we put our heads together,” Bennett said. “It’s a different way of working. It extends downtown and makes the west side of the town connected to downtown. As much of an asset as the river is, this takes it out as a barrier.”
Eastside Park
Bennett said Seal laid the foundation and master plan for Eastside in 2010. With the master plan in place and more interest in housing options, Bennett said the project has started moving forward.
“There are a lot of houses out there now,” he said.
So far the process of building on the undeveloped area has included a completed feasibility study and updating plans with phasing options and cost options. Bennett said the next step is the schematic design, which includes the nuts and bolts of what those phases will look like and more details.
“It will be the biggest challenge – in my opinion – I will have,” he said. “I want to make sure I do it right and feel a huge responsibility to do that.”
Bennett said the whole park without a community center will cost between $20 and $25 million.
“But we are not building all that at once,” he said. “It’s the million-dollar question; what can we try to do? It’s too early in the game.”
One amenity that has been changed from the master plan is the removal of an archery range, which Bennett said is because one was installed at Strawtown Koteewi Park. Instead, plans call for an outdoor adventure area with a zip line and high-ropes course.
“How many people in their career get to build a 200-acre park? It’s not going to get done overnight; it’ll get done over several years,”
In comparison, Forest Park is 150 acres with the golf course, which is 50 acres.
New hire
Bennett has hired Mike Hoffmeister away from the Town of Fishers to serve as his assistant director.
“He’s already having an impact in his first few weeks,” Bennett said. “My biggest concern was how he’d fit into the team we already had established. I think we hit a home run.”
Hoffmeister, of Plymouth, Mich., went to Bowling Green State University and majored in sports management with the career goal of working for a professional sports team.
“I had internships in park and recreation and a pro sports team. I found parks and rec was for me,” he said.
Hoffmeister moved to Indiana in 2009 and has worked for the Fishers Parks Dept. for the past five years.
“I’m serving my community now. I live in Noblesville,” he said. “I love the team we have here. I can’t wait to move forward and evolve.”
Hoffmeister, who enjoys playing golf in Forest Park, is working on sponsorships for summer camps and the summer concert series and is assisting Bennett with park department programming and development.
“The more park facilities for the community, the better,” he said. “Forest Park is a gem and it’s been around forever. Expanding our parks portfolio is something we need to do.”
Hoffmeister is married to Melissa, and the couple has a soon to be one-year-old son, Camden.
Meet Brandon Bennett
Age: 40
Hometown/residence: Noblesville
Family: wife, Laura, and son, Michael, a first-grader at Hazel Dell Elementary
Education: Graduated from Noblesville High School in 1992 and Purdue University in 1997
Hobbies: Playing golf, spending time with his family, traveling, fishing, being active at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Westfield and following Colts football and Purdue athletics
Favorite summer activity: “I love the concert series. I love watching it grow.”
Favorite spot in Noblesville Parks: “I absolutely love the Fox Prairie Golf Course old No. 16 tee box. It’s the most beautiful hole out there. I don’t get there every often but I also like the bridge over Cicero Creek between Born Learning Trail and Whitcomb Ridge.”
Quote: “‘Living the dream.’ I know it is an overused cliché, but I feel like it’s where I am and who I am. I’ve got a healthy family, a good job, a roof over our heads and food on my table. I’ve got my faith; what else do I need?”
