Contact: Sue Wagner
Manistee County Planner
231-723-6041
Issued as a Service to the Manistee County Planning Commission
by the Alliance for Economic Success
For Immediate Release
STATE APPROVES MANISTEE COUNTY RECREATION PLAN
Manistee, Michigan – The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has formally approved the Manistee County Recreation Plan: 2008-2013, that will serve as a guide to improving access to natural resources and recreational facilities and develop new recreational opportunities. The vision of the Plan is to “…support and enhance countywide recreational opportunities by leveraging resources to improve the quality of life for residents, promote economic development and improve access to freshwater, natural resources and recreational facilities.”
“The plan provides a blueprint for maintaining and developing the recreational resources that are crucial to the economic well-being and quality of life in Manistee County,” said Manistee County Planning Commission chair Karl Waitner. “It also opens the gateway to public and private funding opportunities that are only available to support implementation of State-approved plans. In announcing State approval, we also want to express our appreciation to the organizations and individuals who participated in developing a Plan that is for, by and about all of Manistee County.”
The Plan includes an identification of existing recreational facilities and assets in the County; an identification of recreational needs and priorities; recreational goals, objectives and actions for the five year period ending in 2013; and an identification of potential funding sources to implement the Plan.
County Planner Sue Wagner reports that the Plan includes five goals:
- Creating community awareness of recreational opportunities and promoting them to citizens and tourists
- Identifying and encouraging accessibility improvements at recreational sites by incorporating Universal Design
- Developing a multi-use pathway system throughout the County
- Promoting and providing diverse recreational opportunities to satisfy all age groups and levels of ability
- Preserving, protecting and enhancing natural, cultural and historic resources by maintaining their significance in the County and minimizing environmental impacts
“To achieve these goals, we need to ensure that all interests are involved in implementing the Plan just as they were in developing it for State approval,” Wagner said. “One of our first steps will be to form a group of diverse interests to help seek and manage resources to implement the Plan.”
The Manistee County Planning Commission and County Planning Office supervised the plan development process with the support of the Alliance for Economic Success in tandem with a Recreation Plan Steering Committee that included 32 representatives from local, state, federal and Tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, schools, a variety of business interests and others. The plan was funded by the Manistee County Community Foundation in a grant made possible by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to help implement the priorities of Envision Manistee County, a county-wide visioning process that established visions and plans for the betterment of the County. The Spicer Group, a consulting firm based in Saginaw, Michigan, was selected by the County Planning Commission to draft the Plan based upon county-wide input.