Suttons Bay Township's efforts to acquire property for a new park on the corner of County Road 633 and Herman Road are still moving ahead despite delays imposed by the Michigan legislature on grants awarded by the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund.

In December 2006, state officials announced that the township would be granted $394,200 to help fund an estimated $600,000 project to acquire 120 acres of land owned by the family of the late Ralph Herman for use as a township park. Since then, however, budget problems in Lansing have resulted in grant funding being frozen – with no indication of when funds will be released.

Acting at its regular monthly meeting on July 11, the Suttons Bay Township Board voted 5-0 to approve a letter from township attorney Jim Williams to Ralph Herman Jr. and the Herman family’s real estate agent, Pam Mork, assuring that the township is still intent on acquiring the Herman property.

Township parks and recreation committee chairman Deb Slocombe said the Herman family was rightfully concerned about when they would get “earnest money” from the township.
“Members of the Herman family have been very patient with us,” Slocombe said, “and it’s important that we keep them with us.”

Meanwhile, Slocombe said, a member of her committee had managed to secure some $16,000 in funding from the state that, under the law, must be used to help pay for an advanced “environmental assessment” of the Herman property – a requirement for the acquisition to move forward.

Township parks and recreation committee member William Drozdalski is also a member of the Leelanau County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (BRA). On his own initiative Drozdalski was able to acquire environmental assessment funding from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for the Herman Park project by working through the county BRA, explained township supervisor Rich Bahle.

The Herman property includes the site of an old cider press building and a service station. Soils on those sites will be analyzed, along with several former debris piles located on the property.

Preliminary plans for the property – assuming it is finally acquired by the township – include the installation of athletic fields, tennis courts and other amenities on the northern end of the property on Herman Road across from Suttons Bay Public Schools. The southern end of the property is heavily wooded and would remain a natural area. The property includes a portion of Leo Creek and its watershed which drains into the waters of Suttons Bay.

Additional grant funding is being sought to help pay for the acquisition of the property and its development as a park, Slocombe said.

Bahle, who also serves as a member of the township parks and recreation committee, reported that the status of township-owned Tennis Court Park in the Village of Suttons Bay was also discussed at a recent committee meeting. Bahle said the tennis court itself was “unrepairable,” but that shutting down the tennis court because of its condition “would only cause more of a hue and cry.” He said there were no funds available to build a new tennis court on the village site.

Bahle said discussions with Village of Suttons Bay officials would continue about what they want to do with Tennis Court park. In the meantime, Bahle said, the township would continue working on acquiring the Herman Park property where it’s likely that other tennis courts will be constructed by the township in the not-too-distant future.