Bingham’s Parks and Recreation Committee recently finished preparing its five-year plan. The township board plans to adopt the plan after a public hearing at its Nov. 18 meeting. According to Steve Hannon, a county resident who helped prepare the document, this will be the last chance for public input.
“It was a good process working with the parks and recreation committee on forming this plan,” Hannon told the board at its Oct. 14 regular meeting. “They’ve been helpful in shaping the direction of it and realizing the survey. I’ve been compiling the background info into goals and objectives and reading the Department of Natural Resources’ guidelines and making some maps as well.”
The five-year plan is informed by the responses to an online survey collected between July and August. It can be found online at binghamparksandrec. org/5yearplan. The website also has a contact page for questions and comments.
The goals outlined in the plan include constructing a new parking lot in Boughey Park; establish Groesser Park, which is currently undeveloped, for public use; improve park signage and online information; achieve greater compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; and more.
The township has already made some progress towards the first goal last month by contracting Gosling Czubak Engineering Services Inc. to provide a revised preliminary site plan for Boughey Park for $1,680.
After Hannon’s presentation at the October regular meeting, the Bingham Township Board approved new carpeting for the township hall by Gallagher’s Carpeting and Flooring in the amount of $6,426.50. This represents the next step in renovations to the township office at 7171 S. Center Hwy., which was originally built in 1877 as a one-room schoolhouse.
Township Planning and Zoning Administrator Steve Patmore reported that they are waiting on the findings of a ground-penetrating radar study of Bingham Cemetery. According to Patmore, there are many unmarked graves in this township cemetery, and so far, the data hasn’t shown conclusively whether some lots are occupied or unoccupied.
The township had previously approved spending up to $5,000 at their Sept. 16 regular meeting to hire Gosling Czubak to visit the site with radar equipment to determine how much of the cemetery is occupied.
Patmore also reported that 2024 “continues to be one of the busiest years (the township) has had” in terms of short-term rental (STR) administration. So far, the zoning administrator has received and reviewed 86 STR applications. Patmore is also receiving renewal forms for next year, but they won’t know until March 2025 if all current STR owners applied to renew their permits.
