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KINGSFORD -- An updated five-year parks and recreation plan is in place for the city of Kingsford, with a focus on maintaining and enhancing current facilities.
The city council approved the plan Nov. 1 after a presentation by Julia Cogger of the Central Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Regional Commission. Cogger, who serves as community innovation specialist at CUPPAD, recommended the city consider spending slightly more than the $166,000 it now averages annually for recreation.
She found that many of the parks have little or no accessibility compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In some cases, she noted, there are low-cost fixes, such as adding a path from the parking lot to the pavilion at Cowboy Lake Park.
She reported that community input found residents valued the sports fields, cleanliness of the parks, water and beach access, but would like to see upgraded playgrounds and facilities and an increase in the number of trails. The parks that received the most use were Cowboy Lake Park, Menominee River Park, Lodal Park and Ford Park.
Several things were requested, including accessibility upgrades, community programming, sport court and field upgrades, a dog park, accessible and all-season trails, bike trails, playground upgrades, restroom improvements, beach improvements, boat ramp upgrade, additional garbage cans, benches and bike racks, more fishing access and a swimming pool/splash pad.
Several recommendations were proposed for the parks, including new play equipment at Olympic Park. At Cowboy Lake, recommendations include cleaning up the water edge, repairing docks, adding trash receptacles, adding a picnic table along the path to fishing piers and an accessible path to the shelter, and a feasibility study for trails along the river edge.
For Lodal Park, suggestions include replacing the basketball hoops and repairing the court; upgrading the playground equipment, removing the rusty fence along Breitung Avenue and adding pickle ball courts.
At the Menominee River Recreation Area, improvements could include new play equipment, providing a drinking fountain and electric service to the pavilion, and providing safe access for paddlers separate from the boat ramp. At Ford Park, plans could include resurfacing the tennis courts as needed, repairing the sidewalks and upgrading play equipment.
Other needs include repairing the stairs and sidewalk and upgrading play equipment at the Breen Street playground and repairing sidewalks at the Beech and Lyman area.
Cogger suggested providing spectator sites for some areas and enlisting community support to accomplish the tasks, including: adding a dog park at Lyman Street; intergrading a lupine planted prairie into a walking loop to provide habitat for the endangered Karner blue butterfly at the Menominee River Park; a Kimberly Avenue arboretum with walking loop featuring local gardener's club plantings and local artists' work in interpretive signs.
She also suggested partnering with other agencies to promote the city's parks, amenities and programming.
Some 2021 findings in the report revealed the city averages 3,607 residents per playground, with an operating expenditure of $88.30 a year per capita and 9.9 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents.
The city is required by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to update its recreation plan in order to qualify for grant funds.
In other business, the council:
-- Directed the city manager to work with the city attorney and public safety director on a blight and noise ordinance, which will be presented to the planning commission for recommendation to the city council.
-- Approved a request to contract with Civicplus Integrated Software Solutions for a more responsive website. The cost would be $19,700 due at contract signing, and approximately $5,000 per year after. The website would be mobile responsive, which would make it easy to use on a mobile device. The new site will not be available for four to six months.
-- Approved a $10,360 bid for outdoor City Hall lighting from Bay Custom Lighting in Green Bay, Wis. The city had $9,000 approved for the project. It would allow for more colors and lighting sequences.
-- Tabled a three-year bid for auditor services from Clifton Larson Allen of Green Bay, Wis., for $19,500 the first year, $20,000 the second year and $20,500 the third year. The city would have the option to opt out of the second and third year if they were unhappy with the service. CLA has a local office.
-- Learned RZ Real Estate LLC of Kingsford has opted to sell back to the city the 125-by-180-foot lot on Evergreen Court it had purchased for $9,000 in fall 2020 with the intention of building duplexes. The firm also had planned to purchase the next nine lots in line over the next nine years.