HILLSDALE — The Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners announced Tuesday, Dec. 26, that for the second year in a row now, the county narrowly missed out on state grant funds that would have allowed them to make much needed improvements to its largest recreational park.
The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund approved 35 grant applications this year disbursing nearly $10 million to various communities for park improvements. Hillsdale County scored 280 points on the trust fund’s scoring system, an increase of 25 points over 2022.
Former County Commissioner Bruce Caswell spearheaded the grant application process for the county commissioners, who earmarked $84,400 of their 2023-24 budget as a 26-percent match of the $240,000 they asked for.
After the 2022 grant application was denied, Caswell briefed the commissioners on why the county’s request was denied. He said that Hillsdale County lacked a provided maintenance plan and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources was looking for more things like ease of access and trail connectivity to larger hiking trails in the area which would have set Hillsdale County apart from other applicants.
The funding would have funded ADA-compliant dock spaces with anti-erosion banks, rebuilt the bridge over the waterfall and made the walking trails at Lewis Emery Park ADA-compliant.
In 2022, Caswell estimated that building a bridge over the waterfall and building a new foundation for the waterfall may cost as much as $130,000 with new ADA-compliant docks costing as much as $110,000.
“Making this disabled accessible is a priority in the parks,” Caswell said at the time.
Caswell has been instrumental in working with the county’s park commission to lay out the Hillsdale County Recreation Plan spanning 2021-2025 that serves as a guideline to improve recreational facilities and develop new recreational opportunities within the county.
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While the proposed work in the plan is spread out over five county-maintained parks, most of the proposed work in the recreation plan will occur at Lewis Emery Park — the county’s biggest park.
The work has been prioritized and includes increased security, rebuilding the waterfall at Lewis Emery Park and infrastructure work at Lewis Emery Park.
The county previously used a Proposal D Recreation Grant to build the community building at Lewis Emery Park with some matching funds coming from the Hillsdale County Community Foundation.
— Contact Reporter Corey Murray atcmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.
