Ortonville- A grant that was to be the cornerstone of a plan to alleviate problems at the Village Skate Park has been denied.
Brandon Township and village officials learned this week that they would not receive a Risk Management Authority grant they applied for last month to build an 8-10 foot fence around the park. The $10,000 grant would have required the municipalities to match with $10,000. Officials had hoped to use grant funds to also install security lighting and landscaping.
Terrence Van Doren, risk consultant for the Risk Management Authority, said the grant was denied because the membership committee wants officials to research security cameras more, and possibly apply for a video security camera system and lighting to see if it will curb the problems at the park, which have included noise, foul language, vandalism, indecent exposure and harassment.
Another detriment to the application, Van Doren said, was the plan by the village and township to use cyclone fencing, rather than ornamental fencing, which would be more difficult to climb.
‘We have encouraged them to reapply,? he said. ‘I think they should apply for the security cameras and lighting first and monitor the situation. They could reapply for the fencing, but it has to be the kind we recommend.?
Because the township is a member of the authority, township officials would have to be the ones to reapply, and Township Supervisor Ron Lapp said he has no plans to do so.
‘I was not surprised that we didn’t get it and I’m not sure what the outcome will be in regards to the park,? Lapp said. ? I don’t think there is a simple solution, as much as I wish there was. It’s a village call, we’ll take our lead from them.?
Village Manager Ed Coy is disappointed about the grant denial.
‘It means we won’t be able to build the fence like we planned unless we cut deeply into the budget,? he said. ‘It was a resource we were counting on… We’ll be pursuing whether there are other grants.?
In the meantime, village officials hired a part-time employee last week to supervise the park from 4-8 p.m. weekdays.