Getty Park renovations sparked by $300,000 grant.

– OCP file photo

Getty Park renovations sparked by $300,000 grant.

SHELBY — The second attempt of applying for grant funds for the renovation of Getty Park was the golden application leading to the announcement received by the Village of Shelby last November. 

Village officials received notice that the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant application of $300,000 for improvements to Getty Park was recommended for funding by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR).

This recommendation for funding, with final approval pending, will be the first grant funds for park work in the village since 1992.

“Receiving the recommendation for grant funding is very exciting and will assist with one of our long overdue projects for Shelby – the renovation of Getty Park,” said Village President Paul Inglis. 

“Once officially approved, the grant funds will support a total facelift of Getty Park.  Improvements will include new park amenities such as a playground, basketball, tennis and pickleball courts, renovation of the current restroom building that will be transformed with new restroom facilities and a pavilion, gazebo, open play space, special event area, new parking areas and an accessible pathway throughout the park.”

MDNR considered and reviewed 20 LWCF applications from various communities throughout Michigan. From that review process, MDNR recommended $5.4 million in LWCF funding to support 14 local park projects — Village of Shelby being one of them.

“The Land and Water Conservation Fund is pivotal in supporting projects that improve the quality of outdoor recreation for communities across Michigan” said Dan Lord, DNR grants manager. “This fund is an excellent example of successful collaboration among federal, state, and local government partners who are focused on bringing real world health and social benefits to residents and visitors.”

The LWCF is supported by revenues from federal gas and oil development from the Gulf of Mexico. Following congressional appropriation, the monies are apportioned to the states by the US Secretary of the Interior each year. All project recommendations for funding will be sent to the National Park Service for federal approval.

Village council members of the Parks, Recreation, and Buildings Committee were provided with development, administrative procedures, and other information for the project at their meeting last month by volunteer parks consultant, John Wilson. 

“The recommendation for funding is great news in many ways,” said committee member John Sutton. “We have been working towards this moment for nearly four years. All the what-ifs surrounding this project are now a reality for a new and better Getty Park. Our residents will be the benefactor of the many positive benefits that will result from the improvements to Getty Park.”

Over the next few months, the Getty Park renovation team will prepare information that will be provided for the pending project agreement from the National Park Service as well as fine tuning the park’s design and specifications for the project.

In addition to the recommended grant funds, the village will provide local funding of $346,300. The local funding is a combination of donations, in-house labor and equipment use, capital improvement funds of the village and donated work by local businesses. 

The village staff will also work on a gift catalog that would offer the opportunity for residents to be a part of the project by purchasing park amenities to honor a person, a memory and or a special event in their life. 

“This is just going to be a wonderful project for our residents, said Committee Chairperson Damian Omness. “As a new member on the Village Council, I am delighted to be a part of the Getty Park renovation team and eager to see the project completed. Getty Park has served the leisure activities for many in Shelby as the community park. Now it’s time we come together and do whatever we can as individuals so new memories can be made with a new and improved Getty Park.”

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