Hickory Hills Recreation Area has been in the spotlight this past week as Traverse City Parks and Recreation works to solve an electrical issue that’s damaging the park’s snowmaking pipes – a problem that could come with an expensive price tag attached – and city commissioners voted to establish a Hickory Hills Advisory Committee and interview community members to sit on the board. In other park news, the city has issued requests-for-proposals (RFPs) to hire firms to lead the creation of a new five-year parks master plan and to install new restrooms at West End Beach and the volleyball courts, while Traverse Area Community Rowing looks to expand its footprint at Hull Park.

Hickory Hills
Snowmaking equipment at Hickory Hills is experiencing recurring damage from electrolysis, or electrical current interacting with and corroding the pipes, Parks and Recreation Superintendent Michelle Hunt told Parks and Recreation commissioners Thursday. Four holes in the pipes – some up to the size of a quarter – caused water leaks on the Magna Carter hill this past season and forced the city to cancel its annual Slush Cup. The snowmaking system lacks isolation valves that would allow the city to shut down only the affected hill, which means staff must shut down the entire system when problems arise, says Hickory Hills Manager Cindy Anderson.

The holes in the pipes – which were installed in 2018 – have all been repaired, but Parks and Recreation now needs to identify where the electrical currents are coming from to address the problem and prevent future damage. The pipe problems also occurred in the 2022-23 ski season, Anderson says, the same year snowmaking was expanded for the cross-country trails. Anderson says it’s not yet clear whether underground or overhead wires – or nearby transformers – are causing the issue, which has occurred in different sections of pipe on the same hill. An outside firm recently came to evaluate the hill and will provide insight in the coming weeks that could help narrow down the problem, Anderson says.

One potential solution could include placing diodes in the ground to redirect currents so they don’t reach the pipes, according to Anderson. The city is also installing isolation valves to give staff the ability to shut down the affected hill when needed and keep snowmaking going everywhere else in the park. “It really matters to be able to do that,” Anderson says. Both Hunt and Anderson emphasize that Hickory still has snowmaking capabilities and that the upcoming ski season is planned to operate as usual.

However, Hunt cautioned Parks and Recreation commissioners that they will need to be careful about tackling other major projects at Hickory Hills until there’s a full understanding of the scope of the pipe problem and its repair costs. “It's a big, unsexy problem that we're having at the hill right now, and those are expensive fixes,” she said. That will be key to keep in mind for the new Hickory Hills Advisory Committee, which city commissioners voted last week to form to advise the city commission and city manager on the park. The committee will have 11 members: the city manager or manager’s designee, a city commissioner, a Parks and Recreation commissioner, and eight at-large members, six of which must be city residents.

The other two at-large members could come from outside the city limits, with numerous local stakeholder groups expressing interest in having representation on the board. Commissioners initially agreed to have the city manager be a non-voting role, which would’ve created nine at-large spots, but City Clerk Benjamin Marentette later confirmed to The Ticker that the city charter requires the city manager to have voting authority on such committees. An ad hoc committee of commissioners is expected to interview applicants for the eight at-large spots and make appointment recommendations to the city commission in the near future.

Other Parks and Recreation updates...
> Parks and Recreation commissioners voted Thursday in support of issuing a request-for-proposals (RFP) for a firm to lead the process in creating a new five-year parks master plan. The city issued the RFP Monday and is accepting bids through October 4. The new plan will bring many parks that have their own separate plans (Hickory Hills), have plans that haven’t been updated in decades (Oakwood Cemetery), or have undergone recent expansions (Brown Bridge Quiet Area) into one cohesive document to guide maintenance and improvements. “It’s time that we look at the parks division as a whole instead of segmented properties,” Hunt previously said.

The new plan will be “more robust” than the existing plan, Hunt told Parks and Recreation commissioners, covering not just goals and objectives but prioritized projects and an assessment of recreational facilities and programming opportunities. The city could explore offering ski lessons at Hickory Hills, hosting an indoor volleyball league using local school gyms, and creating opportunities for the public to use and/or rent the new Senior Center during off hours, Hunt cited as a few examples of programming possibilities. The plan is also expected to provide recommendations on improving ADA accessibility in city parks. After bids are reviewed and firms interviewed, a consulting contract is expected to go to city commissioners for approval in November. The project will kick off in December and calls for extensive public engagement, with input from residents and property owners described in the RFP as the “most important component” in creating the new plan.

> City staff are hoping that the second time’s the charm after receiving zero bid responses to a recent RFP to deliver and install two new pre-fabricated bathrooms at West End Beach – replacing the existing restroom facility – and at a new location off the RB parking lot next to the volleyball courts. Hunt said she was surprised by the lack of bids, as she’d met with multiple firms that expressed interest in the project. The new bathrooms are being funded in part by a $200,500 Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Trust Fund grant. The DNR recommended the city put the project out to bid again, which it has done with a September 27 deadline. The bathrooms are targeted for a spring installation, with repairs to the West End parking lot also planned at that time. The West End restroom is currently closed due to utility work taking place around the site as part of the Grandview Parkway project. Alternative facilities are available at Slabtown Corners and Clinch Park, with portable restrooms also available at Darrow Park.

> Traverse Area Community Rowing (TACR) hopes to soon expand its fenced enclosure on city property at Hull Park on Boardman Lake to accommodate more boats. “During the last several years, TACR has experienced substantial growth with the success of our programs,” Board Vice President Blythe Skarshaug wrote in a memo. “Due to this growth, the need for additional boats has become a priority for the organization with an increased need for storage space.” Hunt noted the expansion wouldn’t impact any significant “usable park space” at Hull. The request will head to city commissioners to approve as part of an updated agreement with TACR.