INDIANAPOLIS — Months after a WRTV investigation raised questions about the conditions at Chapel Hill Park on Indy’s west side, the city announced a $2.6 million improvement project.
The plan includes a new splash pad, playground, basketball court, and two pickleball courts.
While out shooting a story in 2023, WRTV Investigates noticed Chapel Hill Park was in rough shape, so WRTV Investigates went back again in the summer of 2024 and found it was in even worse condition.
“There’s weeds growing up through the playground equipment here,” said WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney in the summer of 2024.
Trash and weeds infested the playground and tennis courts when we stopped by.
“This weed is 74 inches,” WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney said in summer 2024. “It’s taller than me.”
What was found at Chapel Hill Park prompted WRTV Investigates to visit 10% of the city’s parks.
While some parks were in great condition, others looked forgotten.
- 50% had issues with high weeds, especially in the mulch areas of playgrounds
- 25% had problems with trash
- 30% had broken or very faded/outdated playground equipment
WRTV Investigates found while Indy Parks can address things like benches, playground equipment and bathrooms, it’s actually another city agency responsible for trash, mowing, and weed removal — the Department of Public Works (DPW).
WRTV Investigates asked Indy Parks director Phyllis Boyd about the city’s plans to maintain Chapel Hill Park and other improved, renovated parks throughout the city.
- WRTV Investigates: What, if anything, will the city be doing differently to maintain these parks moving forward?
- Boyd: I think the big issue is the capacity that we need. DPW is working on adding positions. And then we are just going to keep with our close coordination, continuing that.
Boyd said DPW has added two positions to specifically address park maintenance.
The improvements to Chapel Hill Park will be funded through the Lilly Endowment Grant and the 2025 Indy Parks capital budget.
The $80 million Lilly Endowment Grant is investing in 42 parks as part of the larger $140 million investment in the Indy Parks system.
- WRTV Investigates: How important is it to protect these investments?
- Boyd: It’s incredibly important. We’re doing this for the community, and we want these investments to stay beautiful for a long time and be useful for a long time.
- WRTV Investigates: Did our investigation help put Chapel Hill Park at the top of the list?
- Boyd: I think maybe it put it at the top of the list in terms of awareness for other folks, but I would say within the parks department, all of our parks are important.
- WRTV Investigates: We’ve talked about rubberized surfaces. Will those be used at Chapel Hill and how will those surfaces impact maintenance moving forward?
- Boyd: We will use those on our playgrounds. We’ve got that as a standard addition to all the playgrounds we do now because we are trying to minimize the need to maintain wood mulch, so that is going to help a lot with the maintenance efforts.
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Neighbors who live near Chapel Hill Park say they’ve noticed upkeep problems as well.
“You’ve got a lot of trash by the basketball courts,” said neighbor Dennis Poteet.
Poteet lives less than a mile from the park and hopes the community takes care of the renovated space so he can bring his grandkids.
“It's something that's needed and is going to be a very big asset to the neighborhood,” said Poteet.
Currently, DPW does some of the maintenance work themselves, but it also contracts with 5 companies to do the work.
WRTV Investigates filed a records request and learned the city paid the 5 contractors $641,288 in 2023.
The Indianapolis City-County Council approved a 16 percent budget increase for Indy Parks, bringing them from $45 million in 2024 to $53.8 million in 2025.
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