Bloomer Park work should begin by early 2011

March 03, 2010 - Plans are moving ahead for the development of Bloomer Park in White Lake Township.

Late last year the township received a grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (NRTF) to overhaul the park. An update on the project was presented to the White Lake Township Board of Trustees during a special meeting held last month.

The total amount of the approved grant is $350,000. Jason Iacoangeli, a staff planner, said the township is now getting everything in place to accept the grant.

"We are in the early steps of ensuring all the legal stuff is in order," he said. "We are also looking to get a letter from the state giving us the go-ahead to contract with an engineering firm."

According to Iacoangeli, NRTF grants are like reimbursement grants. 

"You have to go to them with a solid plan and get approval from the state Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE) to move ahead," he said. "The township will pay all the costs up front, then, essentially, give the receipt to the state for reimbursement.

"We need to do our due diligence work right now before we can start to prepare the request for proposals (RFP) and go out for bids," he said. "I expect by this time next year we will actually start to see work on the property — it usually takes about a year to go through the legal and engineering processes."

Bloomer Park is a 28-acre site located off McKeatchie Road between Grass Lake Road and Jackson Boulevard. It was purchased from the DNRE for $90,000 in early 2009, with revenue from the township's parks and recreation millage.

In 2006, township voters authorized the collection of a five-year, 0.3-mill levy for parks and recreation programs. A mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of a property's taxable value, which is generally equal to half the property's market value. The owner of a township property with a taxable value of $100,000 ($200,000 market value) pays an additional $30 a year in property taxes to support parks and recreation programs and land acquisition under the millage.

Preliminary plans for the park include a series of trails, a boardwalk and a fishing platform/observation deck overlooking Grass Lake.