County Parks Decline as Funding Falls Short
The Park Commission met with the Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners Tuesday to make their case for increased park funding.
Hillsdale County—In a joint meeting with the Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners, the Hillsdale County Park Commission described the decaying state of Hillsdale County’s parks in the hope of receiving increased funding in upcoming fiscal years.
The County oversees four total parks: Lewis Emery Park in Hillsdale, Kathe & Cali Memorial Park in Jerome, Bird Lake Park in Osseo, and Hemlock Beach Park in Reading.
Park Manager Mike Wertz delivered the presentation, focusing on Lewis Emery Park—the county’s largest and most heavily-used park.
According to Wertz, the Park Commission lacks the funds needed to address the issues of basic upkeep at Emery, and the others.
Wertz cited a “negative fund balance” of about $6,100 at the end of 2024 and a stagnant funding level of $40,000 over the past 3 years out of the county’s $18 million annual budget.
In fiscal year 2025, the County Park Commission requested $144,200, and the Board of Commissioners approved a $40,000 budget. Subsequently, the Park Commission requested a $15,000 budget amendment to help cover costs, which was denied in a 2-3 vote in February.
In a search for other revenue streams, the Park Commission has had to increase rental fees to try to keep up with rising costs, but rental requests for the rentable spaces dropped as a result.
“We’re trying very hard to get back under budget,” Wertz added, noting that the Park Commission has cut services and pursued grants to cover the shortfall.
Most of the Park Commission concerns centered on Lewis Emory Park, the 98-acre park just east of the city of Hillsdale.
He also worried that the ponds may not last much longer, and will return to swamp, unless the Board of Commissioners is willing to act.
“The aquatic plant life is killing the ponds,” he told the board. “We need to drudge them out.” The ponds were last cared for in 2008 according to the report, and have not been dredged since the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The fishing docks lining the ponds are also falling apart.
Though Park Commission received a grant to renovate the docks, Wertz wondered why they should be improved at all of the ponds are going to return to a swampy state.
“Why the docks if we’re not going to take care of our ponds?” he asked.
District 1 Commissioner Doug Ingles agreed. “We’ve got to get at least a couple of the ponds in fishing condition,” he said.
Similarly, the roadways and parking lots are crumbling in some places. Wertz’s report indicated that the parking lot has not received any attention since 2012.
In 2024, the Park Commission received a quote to resurface all roadways for $152,160, which was to be split with Hillsdale Township, to cover 25-percent of the cost, the Hillsdale County Road Commission, to cover 50-percent of the cost, and Hillsdale County itself, to cover the remaining quarter, but the Board of Commissioners rejected that proposal as well.
Gary Leininger, another member of the Park Commission, told the joint boards that something different needs to be done, or park infrastructure will continue to fall apart, and expenses will continue to mount.
“We need adequate funding for the park,” the elder Leininger said, citing that park funding has hardly increased over 30 years.
Fellow Park Commission Kathy Schmitt agreed, saying, “we are held static” and calling the funding structure “built in failure.”
The Park Commission was met with continued resistance.
District 4 Commissioner Brad Benzing said that he wants to ensure that the parks are not reliant on money from the county’s general fund.
“Maybe we need less parks,” he told the joint group, suggesting that they concentrate on the “crown jewel” of the park system, Lewis Emery.
District 5 Commissioner Brent Leininger told the Park Commission that they need to find a way to “bring in outside revenue” if they want further funding.
District 3 Commissioner and Board Chair Mark Wiley sent the Park Commission’s request for $15,000 to the Finance Committee for further review.
“I’m going to ask that the Budget Committee address the $15,000 question and bring back something to the Board of Commissioners for the May 13th meeting,” Wiley said.
Jacob Bruns
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