The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners approved the county’s five-year community parks and recreation plan at their Dec. 17 regular meeting after a public hearing.
The five-year plan outlines a new park operations and maintenance program, to be overseen by the parks and recreation commission. This program will be developed with county staff to “address immediate and long-term equipment, budgetary, and personnel needs for existing and proposed facilities,” and “implement the remaining incomplete elements of the park conceptual designs.”
Interim Administrator Richard Lewis clarified that this program wouldn’t require the county to hire new personnel, but it would involve the county’s new facilities manager and the usual part-time seasonal employees.
The plan encourages increased collaborations with other local/tribal governments and nonprofit organizations. The plan says to consult with the Grand Traverse Band (GTB) of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians on Native American use of plant species, and retain their ongoing collaborations with the GTB, Leelanau Conservation District, and oth- ers for planting new trees and shrubs.
It also says to create “friends” groups of committed volunteers for each park, to formalize community service opportunities for Boy and Girl Scouts and high schoolers, and to develop “volunteer chores” available annually at each park.
Improving the county’s partnership with the Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society (LCHPS) is another objective of the plan. The LCHPS was established in 2017 to lease the Poor Farm barn in Maple City and save it from being demolished, and the plan notes their efforts to restore the site. Leelanau County had purchased the Poor Farm in 1901 to house the area’s indigent population.
The county’s building safety department denied an LCHPS request to hold educational events inside the Poor Farm barn in 2023, citing the lack of restroom facilities. The LCHPS appealed this decision in March 2024, but the appeal was denied. LCHPS President Steve Stier said that using portable restrooms instead would not meet code requirements.
Stier wrote a letter to the Board of Commissioners in May urging them to grant capital improvement project funds to his organization so they can afford to add indoor restrooms to the barn. His letter says that “the county must take some financial responsibility for improving a facility that they own and will benefit from” and “if you want a high-quality park system, you must be willing to pay for it.”
The five-year plan includes a $140,000 project to add restroom facilities to the Poor Farm barn, with costs to be split evenly between the county and LCHPS fundraising, but this improvement is not scheduled until 2030.
Moreover, the five-year plan promises county assistance to the Lake Leelanau Lake Association (LLLA) in fighting Eurasian watermilfoil, an invasive species to lakes and fishing ponds. The LLLA has been working since 2019 to contain and eradicate this plant, which can eventually spread until it covers the water’s surface.
The LLLA announced Dec. 18 that by the end of the season, there were no known large Eurasian watermilfoil infestations on Lake Leelanau, but the 17 sites where the invasive species appeared are still being monitored. The five-year plan says the county will collaborate with the LLLA in “solving the aquatic weed problems in the fishing ponds.”
Other goals in the plan are less specific, like upgrading existing facilities for continued use by the public; providing “accessible, enriching” experiences and barrier- free/universal access; promoting the historical and cultural heritage of the parks; developing signage; and applying for funds through grants and other funding sources.
The capital improvement projects scheduled for next year include removing the vault toilet buildings at Myles Kimmerly and Old Settlers parks and replacing them with concrete pads for portable toilets; a grant application for an accessible pathway at Veronica Valley Park; and a new driving range and baskets for the Myles Kimmerly Park disc golf practice course.
These three projects are each under $30,000. But there is a fourth project for 2025 that is more costly: refurbishing or replacing the gazebo at Old Settlers Park. If the county can renovate the existing gazebo, this project will cost $60,000. Replacing the gazebo would cost $160,000.
The five-year community parks and recreation plan can be viewed and downloaded at https://leelanau.gov/news. asp?aid=1104.
