01-31-2019 Paw Paw River County Park to acquire additional 64 acres across the river, state grants

Paw Paw River County Park to acquire additional 64 acres across the river, state grants eyed for improvements; Five-Year County Parks Plan in the works

By Annette Christie The exciting news was first announced in August 2018 that Berrien County may be able to acquire more land for the expansion of Paw Paw River County Park in Watervliet. It seemed appropriate that the announcement came at a Berrien County Parks & Recreation Commission meeting which was held at Watervliet City Hall.

ADJOINING PROPERTY… Berrien County is seeking to acquire additional property (contained in the blue circle to the right) for the possible expansion of Paw Paw River County Park located in the City of Watervliet. The adjoining property, across the river from the park (circled in red), with approximately 63 acres, will be purchased from the Enders family as they have the desire for their property to become part of the park. The Berrien County Board of Commissioners authorized moving forward with the purchase at their Thursday, Jan. 24 meeting.

Parks Director Brian Bailey told the Parks and Recreation Commission that local resident Fran Enders had approached the county about the approximate 64 acres that she owns across the river from the island which is now a part of Paw Paw River County Park. Bailey said that in the discussions with Enders she understood that it could take some time to get the funding, which would hopefully come from a grant, in order for a purchase of the property to be completed. On Thursday, January 24, 2019, the Berrien County Board of Commissioners, through a resolution, authorized Bailey to move forward with the acquisition of the property. As the county prepares to update its five-year plan, it can include this property in that plan which helps in grant applications. Paw Paw River County Park opened in October 2018 and quickly became a popular attraction to the northern part of the county. The park located on the east side of M-140 in the City of Watervliet, includes approximately 3.5 acres with one mile of Paw Paw River frontage, and is directly across the river from Hays Park. Work completed during the development includes improvements to the river frontage, a pedestrian bridge connecting to the island, mature trees, a scenic walking trail on the island and other recreational opportunities. The park connects Watervliet directly to the St. Joseph River and Lake Michigan on the designated Paw Paw River Water Trail. This location is a trailhead and includes an ADA kayak launch, hard surface walkways, a parking area, security lighting, trash and recycle bins and bench seating which enhances recreational opportunities for the region. Two viewing decks are located off of the island trail. The estimated cost, $646,321, had multiple sources for the funding. A generous $25,000 donation from the “Friends of Paw Paw River County Park” was given to exhibit the community’s support of the project. The receipt of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund Grant in the amount of $296,000 was matched by Berrien County by both endowment fund and general fund budgets. The Berrien County Parks Department plans to apply for another Trust Fund Grant for the acquisition of the property for a total cost of approximately $104,000. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund was established in the mid seventies and is funded through the proceeds from oil and gas development on state owned lands. The fund was established by statute and has a board that reviews all the applications for those funds. Every year one third of the funds raised through those proceeds are used by state and local governments for the acquisition and/ or development of recreational properties. No more than 25% can be used for development so the rest is for acquisition. Berrien County has been the recipient of these funds many times in order to acquire, build, and improve their Parks & Recreation offerings. The Berrien County Parks Department is now hosting open houses for the purposes of obtaining public input on the 2020-2024 Berrien County Parks Five Year Plan. The next open house will be held on Wednesday, March 20 at Love Creek County Park. The open house will be from 3-4:30 p.m., followed by the Parks & Recreation Commission meeting at 5:30 p.m., and another open house from 7-8 p.m. Love Creek County Park is located at 9292 Huckleberry Road, Berrien Center. Paw Paw River County Park joins an expanding list of park options for visitors and residents alike in Berrien County. Silver Beach County Park is located in St. Joseph at the mouth of the St. Joseph River and on the beach of Lake Michigan. In addition, the park provides public access to the South Pier. During the summer months, 1,600 feet of dedicated public swimming area is available. The beach has a bathroom facility, concession stand, playground areas, grills and picnic areas, barrier free walkways, outdoor showers, volleyball courts, and two pavilions available for rent. Love Creek County Park sits on 200 acres of rolling natural space outside of Berrien Springs. There are six miles of hiking trails, cross-country skiing in the winter, mountain bike trails, and access to a variety of habitats and an amazing display of spring wildflowers. The Trillium Room provides a perfect space for events, meetings, and gatherings.

Madeline Bertrand County Park is located just south of Niles along the St. Joseph River. The park includes trails for hiking and biking as well as cross-country skiing in the winter. The park also includes an 18-hole disc golf course, covered shelters, indoor lodge, picnic areas, and playgrounds. Rocky Gap County Park overlooks Lake Michigan from the bluff in Benton Charter Township and also includes 1,100 feet of Lake Michigan shoreline. The lower park provides sandy beaches and the ideal swim location while the upper park provides a wonderful view from the overlook. The lower park includes a parking lot, vault restrooms, picnic shade shelter, picnic tables, benches, and a hard surface beach access ramp. The upper park includes a parking lot, two picnic pods, and an overlook deck and benches. The overlook deck can be rented out for events or gatherings. Galien River County Park can be found in New Buffalo Township on 86 acres by the Galien River. Highlights include the 300-foot Canopy Walkway that leads to a 60 foot high marsh overlook tower. In addition, there is a 600 foot long marsh boardwalk that leads to river viewing and platforms.

Schools and postal delivery knocked out by Mother Nature

By Jon Bisnett Monday morning, January 28, found Coloma, Hartford, Watervliet and Grace Christian schools with empty desks as our local districts joined the chorus of hundreds of Michigan schools as far east as Marshall and all up and down the Lake Michigan coast to U.S. 131, all idled in the face of massive overnight snowfall and dangerous windchill. It was like the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day only one week later as the mild winter again yielded to the polar vortex with another shut down of schools repeating the events of just a week ago.

WE DON’T GIVE A HOOT HOW MUCH IT SNOWS… must be the motto of these clever sculptors in the 300 block of North Maple Street in Hartford. What is assumed to be a Snowy Owl face stands 8 feet tall! (TCR photo by Jon Bisnett)

By noon Monday all State of Michigan offices in the Lower Peninsula were closed. Western Michigan University cancelled all classes at noon. City and county offices closed throughout the area. Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey declared a road emergency due to the emergency snow conditions impacting travel throughout Berrien County. Residents were requested to stay off roadways when possible to allow snow removal crews to safely clear the roadways. Most cities have invoked snow emergency rules meaning no overnight on-street parking, again to allow plows to work. A short reprieve expected to follow on Tuesday failed to materialize, instead dumping an additional four to six inches of lake effect snow. Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a State of Emergency late Monday with severe life-threatening weather advisories for Wednesday and Thursday. Meteorologists predicting dangerous near record lows well below zero with windchill expected to hit negative 20 to 40 degrees coupled with daily highs not expected to exceed negative numbers. All Post Offices in West Michigan served by the Grand Rapids Sorting Facility were closed Wednesday, with the expectation the closure would extend through Thursday as well. Querying Tri-Cities school officials, most admitted they would be happy if they could get two days of school out of this week. It is worth noting that many districts will easily exceed their state allotted five days of no school. Inevitably a day or two may be tacked on to the end of the school year since the new state law that went into effect with the 2016-17 school year requires 180 days of instruction including a minimum of 1,098 hours. Also worth mentioning is the fact that for whatever reason, it seems Mother Nature enjoys lowering the boom on our schools annually on these specific weeks which are traditionally the time for first semester exams. Last minute studying and the start of the second semester classes get interrupted. There is hope that the school buses may be back in business on Friday. A bit of a warming trend will push the thermometers back into the plus side for Friday and Saturday, expected to be in the lower 20s with a full-blown Hawaiian shirts and Bermuda shorts heat wave of 40 degrees and rain predicted for Sunday. Above all else, stay warm, drive safely, check on the elderly, keep pets inside and be sure to load up on those ever so precious commodities milk & bread. Like the message seen in a recent social media meme says, “At least we don’t have Hurricanes!”

FIREMEN AWARDED… At the Watervliet Fire Department Firefighters Banquet on January 19, 2019, two top awards were presented to members of the department. Pictured are (from the left) Fire Chief Dan Jones, Firefighter Blake Kinzler, Lt. Chad Hunt and 1st Lt. Bill Whitney. Blake Kinzler was named Most Improved. Kinzler has been with WFD for a little over two years and has worked his way through their Cadet Program, and has become Firefighter I & II Certified. F.F. Kinzler, in his short career, has shown ambition coupled with the ability to listen and a strong desire to learn. Firefighter of the Year was awarded to Lt. Chad Hunt. Lt. Hunt has been with the department off and on since 2001, during which time he has continuously demonstrated his strong leadership capabilities while developing his experience and knowledge. Lt. Hunt stands as a role model for all members of the department. (TCR photo by Amy Loshbough)