Harbor Springs parks and rec presents project list for 2024
HARBOR SPRINGS — The Harbor Springs Parks and Recreation Board addressed the city council on Monday for their annual presentation.
The presentation covered a series of updates the department has worked on in the last year, as well as what’s ahead in 2024.
Dana Mulder, chair of the Parks and Recreation Board, and Rachel Roon, parks and recreation director, addressed council during the March 4 meeting.
In the update, the department spoke about an inventory of the 22 parks in the area. They also spoke about rolling out a new “Passport to Adventure” program. The program has all of the parks property listed and kids can get stickers for visiting the different parks. If they bring a completed passport to city hall, children will receive a free water bottle.
In 2023, the Parks and Recreation department was able to complete fundraising and reopen the western section of the boardwalk, open the newly renovated Sk8 Park, host several Sledding and S’mores events, organize Easter egg hunt and Fall Fest events, and host an Arbor Day celebration.
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Roon and Mulder also spoke about the projects coming up in 2024, including completing the site area at the Sk8 Park, completing the City Beach Playground with the installation of new playground equipment and safety railing, continuing to fundraise for the eastern section of the boardwalk, and to continue fundraising for the extension of the Little Traverse Wheelway under M-119.
The department will also be forming a search committee to determine who is using parks, forming a programming committee to research new ideas, complete the phasing and design plan for Kiwanis Park, research ideas for Harbor View Park improvements, begin phase 1 of the Kosequat playground project, install recycling at major parks, and develop creative funding ideas.
For funding, there have been discussions with local townships about having an updated cost sharing agreement as well, Mulder said.
“From our surveys, we found that people really value family-oriented spaces, amenities, programming and events, so we will continue to focus on that,” Mulder said.
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During the presentation, they also covered the department’s guiding principles and why parks are important to the community.
Prior to the presentation, the city council also approved changed to the department’s bylaws, changing the number of seats on the board from five to seven, and having agenda packets emailed to the board members instead of mailed. According to agenda materials, council had to approve the change before it became official.
— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Harbor Springs parks and rec presents project list for 2024
