Grand Traverse County Parks and Recreation commissioners hope to more closely collaborate with county commissioners following several months of tense public discussions over the possible sale of parks properties. The board, eyeing a fresh start under incoming County Administrator Vicki Uppal, voted Thursday to extend an invitation to county commissioners and Uppal to meet to discuss the direction of Parks and Recreation after Uppal starts her position September 5.

Parks board members Thursday also discussed several upcoming parks projects, including the possible renovation of a house and barn at Maple Bay Park and Natural Area and an effort to manage the deer population on Power Island this fall.

Parks Collaboration
Recent county commission discussion on the possible sale of parks properties – including Power Island, Maple Bay Park, the Civic Center and Twin Lakes – irked several Parks and Recreation members, who felt the board’s input was ignored throughout the process. A subsequent Parks’ board decision to withdraw support for selling property on Keystone Road further strained relations between board members, county commissioners and administration.

Parks and Recreation commissioners Thursday discussed the need to have a stronger voice in public discussions about county parks and work more closely with county commissioners to determine the future of recreational properties. “I think we need to be a strong board,” said Parks and Recreation President John Roth. “If we want to keep these parks whole, we need to say that.” Roth said he hoped to meet with commissioners to “tell them what our visions are, and see if that matches what their visions are. I think we should lay it out there.”

Commissioner David Grams said it was against what he felt “our mission is as Parks and Recreation to try to sell things to fix the county budget.” He expressed concerns about meeting with commissioners if discussions again turned to selling properties, but said he was open to collaborating on the overall direction of Parks and Recreation. “It makes a lot of sense to have that meeting once we have a new administrator,” Grams said.

Noting county commissioners have “the power to override us,” Commissioner Andy Marek said Parks and Recreation would be “wasting our time and our resources” by pursuing different strategic goals than county commissioners. With the county’s parks master plan in the process of being rewritten, board members agreed it was an ideal time to meet with commissioners in an attempt to agree to a unified vision for county parks.

Maple Bay Property
A county-owned house (pictured) and barn at Maple Bay Park and Natural Area could be renovated for new use after a resident interested in refurbishing the buildings approached commissioners.

Mike Round of Paul Maurer General Contracting offered to donate his labor to renovate the house and barn in exchange for using a portion of the property in a long-term lease. Parks and Recreation Director Kristine Erickson brought the proposal to commissioners Thursday to gauge their interest in the project. The house has fallen into disrepair and poses a danger to the public, Erickson said, while the county has long discussed the possibility of using the barn as a revenue source through public events like meetings and weddings.

“At some point, we’re going to have to face the facts both the house and the yard aren’t in good shape and they’re hazardous to people,” Erickson said.

Commissioners expressed interest in seeing something done with the property, but asked the Parks’ business development committee to study revenue opportunities further and make a recommendation to the board about an overall vision for the property. Commissioner Cheryl Gore Follette said a request-for-proposals (RFP) process should be used and widely publicized to the community to open the project up to other potential partners and make it known there was an opportunity to do something at the site.

Managing Power Island Deer Population
Parks commissioners approved opening Power Island to bow hunting – this year without the requirement of a deer management permit – during the fall season in an effort to control the deer population on the island.

In previous years, hunters had to obtain a $20 permit from the Parks department and were only allowed to hunt one antlerless deer per permit. This year, hunters need only have their normal deer hunting license and follow DNR hunting guidelines on the island. Power Island will be open to bow hunting between October 16 and November 14 and December 1 and January 1. According to Parks staff, three bucks have already been spotted on the island this year. Deer – which damage valuable vegetation on the island – must be culled to prevent dying off through starvation, according to staff.

In other county parks news…
County parks staff and Friends of Easling Pool will co-host a Community Day at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center on Saturday, August 19 from 11am to 2pm. The event will mark the official ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Campbell Community Playground and the public kick-off of the Easling Pool Community Campaign aimed at raising $625,000 for pool improvements.

Family-friendly activities at the event will include a bounce house, carnival games, bingo, open swim and the Aquaglide experience from 12pm to 2pm at Easling Pool, and live music by Sharp Edges, New Revolution, Mattalie Band, 3G+E, and West Side Horns. Norte! will host biking at the park (bring your own bike and helmet), and free food will be available from Jimmy John’s. Bill Marsh will also be onsite and will donate $10 for every test drive to the Easling Pool Renovation Fund.