Garry McKeen gave the county’s Parks and Recreation Commission annual report to the Oceana County Board of Commissioners on June 25. In it, McKeen highlighted the commission’s most recent project, the culmination of Marshville Dam’s rehabilitation and boardwalk installation. The project was the result of $2.3 million brought into the county through grants, the Parks and Recreation Commission's capital improvements fund and other avenues of funding to improve this particular park.
Special emphasis was made on the ADA-accessible boardwalk, which was recently utilised at an event where as many as 40 county residents with disabilities enjoyed an afternoon of fishing. McKeen also highlighted the 2,300 trees and shrubs planted in the marsh.
Other parks were given attention as well, with Cedar Point Park’s ADA-accessible sidewalks and expanding parking lot finished and ready in time for summer. Gale’s Pond and Doolittle Park were also discussed regarding the ongoing efforts to control invasive hybrid flora and trespassing motorized vehicles. Invasive species were also an issue at Marshville Dam, but fortunately the invasive poison hemlock was spotted early and has been controlled. McKeen described graffiti as “an ongoing battle” at all the parks.
Sights for future improvement are set on Black Lake, where the Parks Commission is planning a boardwalk and pathway along the south of the park, allowing full ADA accessibility to the wooded areas. The parks commission is seeking grants awarding ADA accessibility implementation and has already received a donation of lumber for the boardwalk.
McKeen also spoke of the partnerships that benefit Oceana County’s parks, such as the help of the Oceana County Road Commission and Sheriff’s Office, and the educational programs headed by the Oceana Conservation District and Oceana MSU Extension. “These all have been amazing assets to bring to the county to increase economic value, sociability, [and] also the ability to be proud,” said McKeen, before thanking the rest of the commissioners' board. “On behalf of the 10 people who serve on the board, we thank you for what you do for us to help us go forward…the ability to grow our parks in the county has been wonderful in the last five years.”
The county parks were the subject of both public comments during the board meetings, with the discussion of one existing county park and the possibility of adding another to the roster. Lee Hyslop, supervisor of Crystal Valley Township, came to the commissioners' board meeting with a response to a letter sent out by the county seeking collaboration with the township in regard to the future of the Crystal Valley Dam.
Hyslop voiced appreciation for the maintenance the county has done for Crystal Valley County Park, wherein the dam is located, but posed the question in response to the letter, “Actions speak louder than words, but what has the county done on that project?”
Hyslop pointed out how the letter gave no firm figures on what the rehabilitation of the dam might cost, no direction and seemed to put the onus on the township to save the dam. “I don’t know what the numbers are. I don’t know what your actions are, but you’ve asked us to see what we can do to pay for it in Crystal Township. Did the other 15 townships get invited to help with this? It’s not a Crystal Township park. It’s a county park.”
Hyslop did report what work was already being done to benefit the dam and park, “Crystal [Township] donated the land, the pavilion, the dam maintenance, [and] the ballpark. We’ve done a tremendous amount of work and spent a lot of energy out there."
He added, "I don’t want to go out and ask the farmers for more money.”
While there are partial funds from the township’s revenue over several years and possible money pledged from township residents, Hyslop wants to see greater efforts in collaboration from the county. Said Hyslop, “I don’t want to put that kind of money into something we don’t know what’s going on [with], and I don’t think we’ve had any collaboration.”
He did assure the board that they would have an answer for whether to replace or remove the dam by the requested Oct. 1 deadline.
At public comment following the board’s regular meeting, Weare Township Supervisor Larry Doran spoke on behalf of the Committee for the Red Barn, consisting primarily of Pentwater area residents and visitors who are interested in saving, preserving and keeping the Red Barn on the site it currently sits. The current site is under the jurisdiction of the Michigan DNR, and the Red Barn is at risk of being sold off the property or removed altogether. In the past, the Committee for the Red Barn and Commissioner Paul Erickson have approached the board of commissioners regarding the county taking over temporary stewardship and maintaining the structural integrity of the building.
Doran did reference the parks commission’s report, pointing out that, “There’s eight parks in our county.” And later asking if the board would, "consider maybe making [the Red Barn] park number nine.”
The Committee for the Red Barn will be at the Oceana County Parks and Recreation Committee meeting on Aug. 6 to discuss that possibility and provide more information on their vision for the property’s future. Doran said of the significance the site has for Pentwater residents and visitors, “When they get to the Red Barn, they’re home…it's home for a lot of people.”
Aside from the parks and recreation commission report, the board of commissioners held a discussion regarding a recent proposal from Newaygo County to the rest of the West Central Michigan County Alliance (including Lake, Manistee, Mason, Oceana and Osceola counties.) The proposal is to enter into an agreement for contracting lobbyists in Lansing to pursue issues facing the alliance.
While, currently, all counties receive a certain number of lobbyists through the Michigan Association of Counties, as Chairman Robert Walker explained, “When you’re talking grants and everything else and Lansing and the opinion and positions of the elected people in West Michigan, the thought is that maybe we would be better served having somebody who works directly for the five counties here and not for all 83 counties.”
The contract would be with a private, third-party company for a five-year period, with an estimated price tag of $60,000, though it was unclear in the proposal how that $60,000 would be split between counties that enter into the agreement. Newaygo will still proceed with the contract, regardless of which and how many West Michigan Alliance members join.
This would be a new expense that Oceana County has not considered in the past. Commissioners agreed that the requested five years was too long, preferring a trial period wherein the effectiveness of the investment could be ascertained. Walker personally would prefer a sunset period of one year, “[I’m] not anxious to consider anything more than a year.”
Commissioner Joel McCormick also voiced concerns on the longevity of the contract and considered the difficulty of how they could gauge the value of the returns to the county.
Commissioner Tim Beggs voiced his dislike of the concept of lobbyists, “Personally I struggle with the idea of lobbyists, because that’s what I thought I voted for when I voted for a representative.”
He then added that he doesn’t have “an opinion one way or another” regarding the proposal.
Walker, McCormick and Erickson did all agree that a “voice” for our rural, agricultural counties is needed in Lansing, especially as more and more county projects come before the board. Said Erickson, “I think it’s necessary that we do that because there’s competition for dollars out there, and unless our voice is heard loud and strong, we won’t be in the running for these things.”
