Kokomo, IN Special Events & Permits: Park Event Permits (2026)

Section 96.35, Permits and Reservations, requires anyone entering a Kokomo park or using park property or a facility, whenever a rule adopted by the Board of Park Commissioners requires it, to first obtain a permit or reservation from the Superintendent of the Parks and Recreation Department. The section ties the fee directly to the permit process: whatever fee the Board sets, if any, is payable when the applicant applies. All applications must be submitted in advance at the park and recreation office rather than at the gate or on arrival.

Critically, the grant of a permit is not automatic: the Superintendent decides in his discretion whether issuing it is consistent with the proper use and protection of park property, and may likewise refuse an application in his discretion. That discretionary standard mirrors § 96.31's separate permit requirement for commercial enterprises within parks and § 96.32's permit requirement for advertising, signs, and public meetings, both of which route through the same Superintendent-or-Board approval process. Fees themselves are separately addressed in § 96.36, which lets the Board set and change charges for park facilities such as community centers, swimming pools, and eating rooms from time to time. Failure to secure the required permit before holding an event or reserving a facility carries the Chapter 96 penalty.