Bloomer Park NRTF grant matching funds approved

The White Lake Township Board of Trustees unanimously voted Tuesday, March 15 to provide the local funding match required to receive a grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (NRTF).

In 2010, White Lake was awarded a $350,000 grant from the NRTF to develop Bloomer Park, which is located off of McKeachie Road. However, to receive the grant, the township had to agree to match 33 percent of the approximately $500,000 total project cost, which in this case requires an approximate match of $175,000.

The township had until April 15 to enter into an agreement with the state or the grant funds would revert back to the NRTF.

According to Jason Iacoangeli of the White Lake Planning Department, money collected from a parks and recreation millage between 2007 and 2011 will be used to help compile the matching funds.

“We want to maximize our millage money, and we leverage it quite well by doing things like these,” he said.

Iacoangeli further added that NRTF grants are “highly competitive” and that White Lake was “fortunate to be awarded the grant when we were.”

Bloomer Park consists of 30 acres and is located in the northern part of the township on the west side of McKeachie Road, south of Jackson. It features an abundance of oaks and maples and includes property along Grass Lake.

“We want people to enjoy the scenic beauty,” Iacoangeli said. “The park has a lot of glacial kettles back from when Michigan was covered in glaciers during the Ice Age. When the glaciers moved back up, they left giant depressions — it makes for neat topography in the park.”

“It’s going to be something really exciting,” added Trustee Carol Burkard.