Know the Ballot: County Trails and Parks Millage Renewal to be Decided in August
Over the past 12 years, Ingham County’s parks and trails millage has funded more than 100 projects, and several more could move from the planning stage to construction if voters approve the millage’s renewal in the Aug. 4 election.
Ingham County’s parks and trails system is either connected or enjoyed by residents across different municipalities, Trails & Parks Millage Coordinator for the Ingham County Parks Department Natalie Trotter told East Lansing Info.
Municipality leaders apply for grants through the millage, Trotter said, ensuring that the local governments are able to fund projects that best serve their local communities using their personal knowledge of their residents’ needs and interests.
Projects that have been constructed because of millage funding include fishing docks and accessible kayak launches at Hawk island park in Lansing and Tadpole Beach Disc Golf Course in Haslett, as well as dozens of repairs and construction projects of pedestrian bridges, sidewalks, public restrooms, concession stands, parking lots and paths to create connections between trails throughout the county.
“We do get community input, and we do get information from the community to see what they feel is the most important on connections and stuff like that. So, as of right now you can go all the way from Delhi Township, all the way to Old Town. … Those are complete connection trails,” Trotter said.
The millage got nearly 55% voter approval its first time on the ballot in 2014 and then 75% of the vote in 2020 when it was renewed.
Voters will decide if the millage will be renewed at up to 0.5 mills for the next 6 years, which equates to a property tax of 50 cents for every $1,000 of taxable value, which would raise more than $5 million annually for parks and trails projects, according to Ingham County.
Right now the county reflects that there are 18 projects for trails and parks that have been selected and are waiting for funding if the millage is renewed, including one in East Lansing.
More than $3.3 million has been put into East Lansing parks and trails through the countywide millage, East Lansing Parks, Recreation and Arts Department Director Justin Drwencke told ELi. This funding has largely been used to expand and upkeep the Northern Tier Trail, which includes just shy of 6 miles of paved pathways connecting several parks and sports complexes, according to the city’s website.
The latest Northern Tier Trail project that would be funded if voters approve the millage is extending the trail to connect the East Lansing Soccer Complex to Coolidge Rd.
That area boasts a few apartment complexes and medical offices, as well as grocery stores, so creating new trails manifests new opportunities for non-motorized transportation for local residents, Drwencke said.
“The millage has definitely provided not only the opportunity to improve the city’s trail system and extend the Northern Tier Trail, but because this millage is collected at the county level, there’s kind of that regional planning effort where we are able to work with the county parks department who helps facilitate conversations with with all of the communities in the region to make sure that the trail systems are planned and connecting to each other,” Drwencke said. “There’s the direct benefit of improving our trails here, but there’s also the additional work of making sure that we can create a cohesive network of non-motorized transportation across the state.”