County OKs up to $50K for parks millage spending advice

LANSING – A group of Ingham County commissioners considering how to spend $3.5 million annually in parks millage money beginning this year are looking for a helping hand.

A task force consisting of consisting of 11 of the 14 commissioners decided Thursday to spend up to $50,000 for a consultant who would develop a trails system and work with the county as it becomes a reality. The money would come from the millage, Ingham County's deputy controller, Jared Cypher, said.

Ingham County voters on Nov. 4 supported a six-year, 0.5-mill levy to build new trails and restore funding for park maintenance. The millage will generate $3.5 million a year, and the task force recently made a connected system of walking/biking trails its top priority.

"The consultant's role will be to ... help the commissioners define what their priorities are," Cypher said.

The task force directed the county staff to draft a proposal to solicit bids from qualified experts.

Earlier in the meeting, the panel voted to determine at a later date spending percentages in several specific categories, such as new construction, reconstruction, repairs and preservation, operations and maintenance, parks and special projects. The group later decided to let that fall under the adviser's duties.

A March 5 meeting for further discussions and public comment on use of the money has been postponed.

Several local officials expressed their desires to the panel Thursday night.

Leslie City Manager Brian Reed said he would like to see money devoted to planning projects, particularly in the out county areas. He also stressed trail connectivity, saying the community hasn't been able to devote the resources and engineering it would like to a trail connecting Leslie and Mason.

Williamston City Manager Alan Dolley told the task force he'd like to some money spent on parks that are farther from the county's urban areas.

"We do have some parks that are open to all residents, and those parks continue to require maintenance," he said. "I ask that this board consider that fact for the outlying areas. Our funding has been tight also."

Mason City Administrator Martin Colburn advised the panel to pull together plans that some communities already have prepared.

Citing a parks master plan that Mason prepared in 1999, and which led to the 2.5 mile-long Hayhoe Riverwalk through the city, Colburn told the task force to keep in mind easements, rights of way and mitigation of wetlands, all of which can slow down trail development.

Commissioner Teri Banas, D-Haslett, chairs the task force and Penelope Tsernoglou, D-East Lansing, is vice chair. Other commissioners on the panel are Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing; Rebecca Bahar-Cook, D-Lansing; Robin Case Naeyaert, R-Mason; Bryan Crenshaw, D-Lansing; Kara Hope, D-Holt; Carol Koenig, D-East Lansing; Randy Maiville, R-Onondaga; Deb Nolan, D-Okemos, and Todd Tennis, D-Lansing.

(Story originally was published on Feb. 20, 2015)