BERRIEN COUNTY TO RECEIVE $850,000 GRANT TO REPLACE SILVER BEACH PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT

By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
ST. JOSEPH – News came on a number of fronts at recent Berrien County Board of Commissioners meetings. Commissioners learned of a grant just received to replace playground equipment at Silver Beach County Park as well as efforts to recruit more dispatchers for the county’s 9-1-1 center.
Berrien County Parks Director Jill Adams told commissioners that the state had just announced that morning that Silver Beach County Park will be getting an $850,000 Spark grant for new playground equipment. The state has set aside Covid-related American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to pay for outdoor recreation projects.
Adams reminded commissioners that they had applied for two Spark grants in December, one for Silver Beach and one to aid in the construction and development of the Lakeview Trail project along Lake Michigan. “The state received 480 applications and 21 were chosen for funding and we had one chosen,” she said.
She noted that the current playground equipment at Silver Beach is 30 years and past its life span. “It’s held up fantastically and we’ve continued to put funding into it every year,” she said. “Now we can put together ideas of what we to see along with the overall park plan.”
Adams said the new playground equipment will feature safety and hard surface accessibility, ramping and shade elements. “We will use new features not available 30 years ago,” she said.
“728,000 people came to the park in 2021 and many were children who enjoy the playground area,” she added. “We’re excited to replace the equipment and get equipment with new features … We’re excited to jump into this project.”
She noted that the overall price for the project is believed to be around $1 million and that the rest of the costs will be matched by the county.
Getting new playground equipment is the first project from the Silver Beach master plan to be addressed. Other projects listed in the master plan include making improvements to the concession stand and the main entrance areas. A new plaza space would be installed at the main entrance and more lanes to reduce traffic congestion for those coming into the park.
The Spark grants announced last week totaled $14,178,900 for projects throughout the state and also included grants for the city of Benton Harbor to restore Hall Park and the village of Cassopolis to make Stone Lake waterfront improvements. Benton Harbor will get $958,000 and Cassopolis will get $1 million.
The Michigan Spark Grant program is administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and offers the DNR a chance to reach people in communities whose economic opportunities and public health were most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This reimagined approach activates historic support for projects that provide safe, accessible public recreation facilities and spaces to improve people’s health, introduce new recreation experiences, build on existing park infrastructure and make it easier for people to enjoy the outdoors,” a state press release reported.
The issue of staffing shortages at the Berrien County Dispatch was brought up by Administration Committee Chairman Jim Curran and Berrien County Administrator Brian Dissette.
Curran reported that Berrien County 9-1-1 Dispatch Director Caitlin Sampsell reported on her department’s efforts to attract more dispatchers. “She told us that her department is down about one-third in staffing which is actually in line with the rest of the state in terms of shortages,” he said.
Sampsell told commissioners that Berrien County 9-1-1 Dispatch has been getting assistance from agencies in neighboring counties. “Allegan County has an identical system to ours and can help us remotely,” Curran said. “Cass and Van Buren would be bringing their staff into our dispatch center.”
Dissette noted that Sampsell is active in the national effort to recruit more dispatchers as well. “She’s working with a nationwide group advancing 9-1-1 dispatching,” he said. “The National Emergency Number Association has been working to spread information about the careers in 9-1-1 dispatching.”
Dissette told commissioners that NENA has produced and issued a series of videos on the subject and Sampsell actually stars in in one of them.
Curran called it great to see county staff involved in such efforts. “It’s great that she did that,” he said. “Our staff is getting very creative in recruiting.”
In other county news, the Berrien County Health Department is gearing up to decide how they want to spend their share of the national opioid settlement.
County Commissioner Robert Harrison reported that Michigan is receiving $800 million from the national settlement with multiple drug makers and that Berrien County will be getting $4 million. Dissette noted that the $4 million will be paid to the county in installments over 18 months.
Harrison told fellow commissioners that Berrien County Health Officer Guy Miller is putting together a group of people to discuss how the money should be spent. Their proposal will be brought before the county board at some point in the future, he said.
Efforts to expand broadband service into the rural parts of the county are also continuing. County Commissioner Teri Freehling said that representatives of the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (known as MiHi) were scheduled to be in Benton Harbor Feb. 14 for a listening session to hear from residents.
Those officials are among those at the state level who are deciding how to spend the federal funds being sent to the state for broadband efforts.
Freehling also reported that there will be a special meeting of the BC Bit Taskforce on Feb. 21 at 1:30 p.m. in order to hear about another funding source for broadband. They will be hearing from internet service providers interested in applying for Robin grant funds where the submission deadline is March 14.
She noted that the county has two townships, Bainbridge and Oronoko, who were able to take advantage early on of county American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grants to expand broadband service in their townships. Work in Oronoko Township is complete, while Bainbridge work should be done by the end of the year.