By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
BUCHANAN, MI – Buchanan city officials received some good news late last week as the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board announced they are recommending approval of a grant to fund the third phase of Riverfront Park improvements.
In total, the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund Board announced grant recommendations totaling $45 million in acquisition and development projects. The recommendations will now go to the state legislature for action and then to the governor’s desk for her signature.
Buchanan submitted two grant applications for trust fund grants earlier this year, one for the Riverfront Park improvements and one for improvements to Kathryn Park in the city. The latter application was not recommended for approval.
Buchanan City Manager Tony McGhee said Friday that this latest grant will allow the city to continue its efforts to revitalize both the riverfront and the city as a whole. He thanked the trust fund board for its recommendation.
“The approval of this grant will allow the community to keep leveraging local funding with outside dollars to make improvements across Buchanan,” he said. “From our downtown to our waterfront, we are making investments that both support our local economy and quality of life.”
“Each project builds on the work that came before it and continues to create momentum in the community,” he added. “We are grateful to see this project receive support from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund.”
He noted that the Buchanan Riverfront Park has the potential to be a great asset for the community and create more ways for residents and visitors to access and interact with the St. Joseph River.
Work to be done in the third phase of the project will include the construction of an ADA accessible fishing platform, new permanent pit toilets, new walkways and additional site improvements.
If the grant is awarded as recommended, the city is expected to receive $385,000 and put up a local match of $165,000. The city had initially asked for $400,000 with a $150,000 local match but increased the local match earlier this fall to improve its chances of getting a grant.
Work connected with the first two phases of the project, also funded with trust fund grants, is expected to be done in 2026 with the third phase work likely done in early 2027. The city did not receive the grant agreement for the second phase until this fall as the legislature didn’t approve the recommendations until then.
The phase one and phase two projects include a new boat launch, a new skid pier for the boat launch, a new accessible floating canoe/kayak launch, a new timber boardwalk, parking lot paving and stormwater management improvements. The second phase grant was applied for in 2024 with the city getting $231,000 and putting up a $99,000 local match.
McGhee said all the design work for the first two phases of the Riverfront Park project has already been completed and the project has been submitted to the state for permitting.
As for the Kathryn Park grant which was not recommended for funding, he said that city staff knew it would be a long shot but decided to try. “We knew it was going to be a long shot but as they say, you don’t hit the shots you don’t take,” he said.
The Kathryn Park grant application had been through the Recreation Passport grant program. The city had asked for $150,000 from the state with a $150,000 local match. McGhee and other city officials have said they will find other ways to make improvements to Kathryn Park.
Statewide, the Trust Fund Board considered a total of 100 grant applications and is recommending that 60 recreation development projects and 15 land acquisition projects totaling $45 million be funded. Of that $45 million total, $19.1 million are for recreation development grants and $25.8 million for land acquisition.
“The Trust Fund continues to be a tremendous source of funding for important projects and land acquisitions across Michigan,” said Michigan Department of Natural Resources Director Scott Bowen. “Since 1976, more than 3,000 projects or acquisitions have been funded with the help of Trust Fund dollars, creating an outstanding legacy spanning nearly half a century.”
The Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund was established in 1976 to provide funding for public acquisition of lands for resource protection and outdoor recreation, as well as for public outdoor recreation development projects. It is funded through interest and earnings on funds derived from the revenues of state-owned oil, gas and minerals.
Over the past 49 years, the Trust Fund has granted more than $1.3 billion to state and local units of government, across 3,015 allocations, to develop and improve recreation opportunities in Michigan.