The Sun and News, Saturday, December 4, 2021/ Page 5Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
A Barry County commit-
tee tasked with ranking
requests for funds from the
American Rescue Plan Act
has recommended some of
that money go toward paving
additional portions of the
Paul Henry Thornapple Trail,
including a section in
Thornapple Township.
An eight-member adviso-
ry team Tuesday night rec-
ommended seven projects,
among them an allocation of
$650,000 to help pave 4.
miles of the trail. The Barry
County Parks and Recreation
Commission asked for nearly
$1.2 million.
Three segments would be
addressed as part of the proj-
ect:
- A 0.8-mile section from
the Kent County line at 108th
Street, southeast to Stimson
Road in Thornapple
Township. - A 1-mile section tran-
secting the Thornapple
Manor medical care facility
in Hastings Charter
Township.- A 2.75-mile section of
trail east and west of the vil-
lage of Nashville to the Eaton
County line.
If approved, the project
would get underway in the
spring of 2022 and be com-
pleted by the fall of 2023.
The county currently owns
6.5 miles of the Paul Henry
Thornapple Trail with sec-
tions at the Kent and Eaton
county lines.
“All county-owned sec-
tions are currently unpaved,
grass and gravel sections,
which severely limits access
to the many benefits of trails
by those with mobility
issues,” according to the
BCPRC application.
Funding for the project
would include estimated
costs for design, engineering
and construction of these
new sections of trail. The
new trail would be a 10-foot-
wide asphalt pathway consis-
tent with other paved sec-
tions of the Paul Henry
Thornapple Trail in
Middleville and Hastings. It
also would include design of
safe and accessible street
crossings, wayfinding sig-
nage to area businesses and
other trail amenities, accord-
ing to BCPRC’s application.
“Trails are important to
the county,” parks board
member Daryl Cheeseman
said. “They promote every-
one’s physical and mental
health. Where I live, I can
walk out the back door and
walk a half to three-quarters
of a mile on my own proper-
ty, but there’s a lot of people
that don’t have that ability.
We need to provide places
that people can go and walk,
bicycle, bird watch.”
The committee gave the
project an average score of
37.625 out of a possible 47
points. Applications could
receive up to 20 points for
long-term investment for the
community, and up to 10
points for demonstrating a
critical, identified communi-
ty need. Additional points
were awarded for the overall
project, impact with partners
and stakeholders outside of
the applying entity, “funding
need that is beyond the abili-
ty to be funded,” and the
project’s ability to “support a
strong and equitable recov-
ery from the pandemic.”
“COVID is a public health
emergency and it’s not going
to go away,” said committee
member Robert Guyer, a
retired partner at the account-
ing and consulting firm
Crowe LLP. “There are
severe restrictions to our kids
and our community, in terms
of indoor recreation activi-
ties. The Paul Henry Trail is
really a gem for our commu-
nity. It’s a great place for
people to get outdoors.”
The project is one of seven
the advisory team has recom-
mended to the county board.
The team was organized in
April to provide direction in
how the county could spend
its first of two nearly $6 mil-
lion funding allocations
through ARPA. A second
allocation is expected next
year. The team considered 19
applications, totaling about
$15 million in funding
requests.
Besides Guyer, advisory
team members included
Bonnie Gettys, president and
chief executive officer of the
Barry Community
Foundation; Lani Forbes,
executive director of Barry
County United Way; Jennifer
Heinzman, president of the
Barry County Chamber of
Commerce and Economic
Development Alliance; Greg
Moore, community affairs
manager for ConsumersEnergy; Carla Wilson-Neil,
retired chief operating offi-
cer at Spectrum Health
Pennock Hospital; Craig
Jenkins, secretary of the
Delton Kellogg Schools
Board of Education; and
Hope Township planning
commissioner and Cindy
Vujea, former economic
development coordinator at
the chamber of commerce
and former Delton Kellogg
superintendent.
County Parks Director
Dan Patton expressed his
appreciation for the commit-
tee’s recommendation.
“Obviously, this is an
opportunity for us to make
some connectivity within
the county, where it doesn’t
currently exist,” Patton
said. “As you drive in and
around the Middleville area
and in and around the
Hastings area, you see the
amount of use that trails
and parks have experienced
over the last [couple of
years]. We feel this is an
opportunity to help us move
things forward.”
Patton said the parks com-
mission would likely seek
additional funding for the
trail extension through the
Michigan Natural Resources
Trust Fund or the Land and
Water Conservation Fund.
West Michigan Trails and
Greenways estimates the
cost of paving an existing
abandoned railroad surface
at $250,000 per mile, accord-ing to the parks commis-
sion’s application document.
Colleen Acker, a member
of the county parks commis-
sion, commended the adviso-
ry team for recommending
the trail project.
“I urge the county com-
missioners to uphold these
recommendations, particu-
larly for the paving of the
Paul Henry Trail,” Acker
said. “Throughout the pan-
demic, our trails have been
well loved, and bolstered the
health and well-being of
Barry County citizens.
Furthermore, the improved
trails will encourage tourism,
bring dollars to our business
owners and vitality to our
communities.”
No date has been set for
when the county board will
consider the recommenda-
tions of the advisory team.121 E. Main Street
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Luminary
walk set in
Caledonia
Township
Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
Caledonia Township will
hold its second annual
Holiday Luminary Walk next
Saturday night, Dec. 11,
starting and concluding at the
Community Green Park.
The walk will take place
from 6 to 9 p.m. along the
Caledonia Trail, located near
Community Green and the
Kent District Library
Caledonia branch. About 200
people turned out for the inau-
gural event last year, Township
Clerk Joni Henry said.
The trail will be lit with
more than 1,000 luminaries.
Walkers are welcome to
grab a donut and some hot
chocolate that will be
served at the Community
Green amphitheater prior to
the walk. The township also
will have a Toys for Tots
box for those who would
like to donate unwrapped
toys.
In case of inclement weath-
er, the walk will be moved to
Sunday, Dec. 12, at the same
time. For more information,
contact the township office at
(616) 891-0140.ARPA funding sought for
Paul Henry Thornapple
Trail extension
Cyclists take a break on the Paul Henry Thornapple Trail in Irving Township.
(File photo)