Hillsdale County to consider reapplying for denied parks grant

Corey Murray, Hillsdale Daily News
·3 min read
Lewis Emery Park has a rich history as being a Civil War muster site of the 18th Michigan Infantry before it became a fishery in 1930 and ultimately a county park in the 1960s.
Lewis Emery Park has a rich history as being a Civil War muster site of the 18th Michigan Infantry before it became a fishery in 1930 and ultimately a county park in the 1960s.

HILLSDALE — The Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners is considering whether or not it will reapply for a $300,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for capital improvement projects at Lewis Emery Park.

The commissioners applied for the grant in 2022 and were denied.

Former Commissioner Bruce Caswell spearheaded efforts to write the 2022 grant and briefed the board of commissioners Feb. 14 as to why Hillsdale County’s application failed.

He said that Hillsdale County lacked a provided maintenance plan and the Michigan DNR 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.

Caswell added that if the county wished to reapply for the grant this year they must have it turned in by April 1 but the commissioners’ budget committee needed to decide if they wished to continue budgeting for the grant’s 25-percent matching funds (about $62,400).

More:County eyes $300,000 improvements to Lewis Emery Park

The grant funds would have been used at the 96 acre park to fund ADA compliant dock spaces with anti-erosion banks, rebuild the bridge over the waterfall and make 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.

Laying crushed limestone on the walking trails around Lewis Emery Park may cost as much as $15,000 but the Hillsdale County Road Commission is willing to pitch in $5,800 in in-kind labor which will ultimately offset the costs of the local match.

The plan is to put in two new docks at each of the larger ponds with one dock placed in the small pond in the back of the park, Caswell said.

Caswell has been instrumental in working with the county’s park commission to lay out the Hillsdale County Recreation Plan spanning 2021-25 that serves as a guideline to improve recreation 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, the bulk of the proposed work in the recreation plan will take place at Lewis Emery Park — the county's biggest park at 96 acres.

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 at cmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Hillsdale County to consider reapplying for denied parks grant