By David Fleet
dfleet@mihomepaper.com
Atlas Twp. — On Monday night Atlas Township hosted a public hearing on the five-year Parks and Recreation Master Plan. The first ever for the township.
The board voted 5-0 to adopt the plan with a few minor additions. Copies of the plan are available a the township hall as well on the township website www.atlastownship.org
In June 2024 the township board of trustees approved at a cost of $4,250 work on the plan that dovetails into the ongoing update on the current Township Master Plan. The new parks plan is necessary to apply for several DNR grants as they become available.
“The Department of Natural Resources dictate the content of the Parks and Recreation Plan, they will certify the plan,” said Adam Young, township planner, who discussed the plan on Monday night.
Once the plan is in place and certified the township can then seek funding grants through the DNR recreation programs from 2025-2029.
“The key sections are the goals and objectives,” he said. “And then the action plan or road map for improvements.”
The proposed plan includes a community description, an overview of the administrative structure of the township, an inventory of existing facilities, a recreation needs analysis, and an action program for proposed recreation improvements for the next five years.
Young emphasized the importance of aiming bigger in the event an opportunity arises which would prompt an application for a DNR grant.
“Our chances (of receiving a grant) are better if we had spoken of a project already in the plan,” he said.