Leaders plan for park at Water's Edge
By Kimberly Kim, The Ile Camera
Envision a new waterfront park at Water's Edge. This may become a reality, especially with the Grosse Ile Township Board of Trustees' recent passage of a few major points of the Water's Edge Marina Master Plan.
The plan is under the Grosse Ile Recreation Department's master plan for 2005-2010.
The current Water's Edge marina master plan especially highlighted the introduction of a new waterfront park at Water's Edge, among other facility upgrades.
This new addition to Water's Edge has been a long time coming for both Recreation Director Tim Rooney and Trustee Walter Pociask, liaison for the board and the Recreation Department, as well as for the other members of the Recreation Commission and the Board of Trustees, all of whom are involved in the waterfront park's planning and development.
Pociask, who has served four years as a trustee and 15 years as a member of various commissions and committees, is hopeful over the development of the new waterfront park.
"We are realizing a dream of making Water's Edge a beautiful destination for everyone," Pociask said.
"I believed that an island without waterfront access was something wrong. This will make Water's Edge the Grosse Ile Mecca."
New features
Some of the amenities at the waterfront park are expected to be a boardwalk with fishing pier and a kayak launch.
The main attraction, "the centerpiece of the waterfront park," as described by Pociask, will be the addition of a maximum of 42 transient docks, which will be accessible by everyone.
These transient docks would allow people to dock their boats and pay for one day, or for a week. This would allow the public direct access to the water and to enjoy its scenery. These visitors of Water's Edge could then come up and go for a swim, golf, or go to the restaurant, Rooney said.
The transient docks differ from the current docks in that current dock holders have paid for an entire season to dock their boats at the marina, hence the transient nature of the new docks.
Under the Water's Edge marina master plan, $32,000 has been budgeted for the waterfront park. This covers the construction of a seawall and a pump-out station.
The money from the Water's Edge budget also is coming from the marina patrons' fees. This money will also be used for marina maintenance.
Another source of funding is a federal Community Development Block Grant for $12,000 for planning.
Expansion of the project will also depend on local money matched by state money.
Recreation Department commitment
Rooney, the only Recreation Department director since its conception in 1987, is dedicated to planning the waterfront park.
When asked the most exciting thing about the addition, he said: "It's the thought that you can go right down to the river and, at any time, enjoy the scenery, and the thought that it's available; it's exciting."
"The opportunities in the past have been limited.
"And when you live on an island you would hope that you would have more opportunities to get down to the water. So it's the ability and the thought that you can enjoy the river, knowing you can get to it. And being from an island community, it says a lot."
As recreation director, Rooney has the special duty of revising the Recreation Department's master plan every five years.
The plan involves programs the Recreation Department offers, recreational facilities available to the public, and the maintenance and upkeep of facilities and programs, Rooney said.
Planning of the waterfront park began in 2005 and will continue until 2010.
Public involvement
The Recreation Department was created with the philosophy of incorporating a public component to the existing recreation facilities, Rooney said.
Therefore, community input was important for the conceptual development of the waterfront park.
This community involvement began with a focus group meeting July 13, 2005.
About 20 groups were brought in for that meeting. These groups came together from such areas and fields as environmental and outdoor interests, such as the Grosse Ile Nature and Land Conservancy, Grosse Ile Garden Club, Greenways/Open Space Committee, The Animals' Island League Shelter, Grosse Ile Animal Shelter and The Aluminum Armada.
Art, music and recreation organizations and interests, such as Grosse Ile Fun for Teens, Grosse Ile Alliance for the Arts, Grosse Ile School Board, Historical Society, and Grosse Ile Dance Academy also were involved.
Other groups included the Grosse Ile Educational Foundation, Cub Scouts and Rotary Club, as well as athletic organizations such as the Grosse Ile Rowing Club, Grosse Ile Youth Recreation Association, Luton Riding Academy and Grosse Ile Schools athletic department.
Subsequently, a public workshop was held July 28, 2005, to encourage public participation and input.
The Recreation Commission then held a public hearing Nov. 17, 2005, where the township made a copy of the draft plan available to the public for review prior to the board taking action.
"During that whole process, when the current master plan started, we've been going for community input," Rooney said. "Since the Recreation Department's growth and development, and during the master plan process, we saw that we don't have access to the water. People from the community said that we'd like to park on the water.
"From that, people started seeing recurring themes, and agreed that, 'Yes, we need a waterfront park.'"
Meeting public need
The concept for the waterfront park attempts to meet the need and desire of Grosse Ile's residents to have a place for their use, on a casual, "non-membership" basis, Pociask said.
Everything currently at Water's Edge is public, which was the intention of the Recreation Commission and the township board.
The only business entity at Water's Edge that requires a membership is the golf course, Pociask said.
Rooney said talked about the effort put into developing waterfront access for the public.
"As the Recreation Department grew, there was no place to go to sit along the water, and enjoy it." Rooney said. "So how can you take a former club setting and open it up? You can't do that overnight."
On Feb. 14, 2005, the first step to the public's access to the waterfront became a reality when the township board voted to merge Water's Edge with the Grosse Ile Community Recreation Department.
By placing Water's Edge under the Recreation Department's direction, it became a vital public facility for accessing the bike trail for excursions to Centennial Farm, Gibraltar Bay Nature Area and airport recreation areas, Rooney said. Water's Edge also brings the water to the public, especially with this addition of the waterfront park.
Gateway to Humbug Marsh
Since Grosse Ile's waterways are also a part of the Detroit Heritage River Water Trail, the addition of the waterfront park greatly emphasizes Water's Edge's location on the Detroit River, Rooney said.
For instance, the waterfront park would also be a great future gateway for visitors to take their kayaks to the nearby Humbug Marsh, which is a part of the Detroit International Wildlife Refuge, Rooney said.
"We're just a skip, jump and hop from Wyandotte, Elizabeth Park, and kayaking is really big," Rooney said. "They are putting a launch in Wyandotte, and this would be a perfect stopping point on their way before Humbug Marsh."
Pociask also had positive remarks about the marsh.
"It's a very attractive marsh, where one can witness the natural beauty of the marsh," he said. "And after all that exercise, get a cold (drink) and a hamburger. We want you to spend your day at Water's Edge."
Pociask also described the marsh as a "jewel."
There are still many phases to go in the development of the waterfront park.
But Rooney, the Recreation Commission and others who are a part of the waterfront park's development have been working hard and appear to be quite enthusiastic.
"I just get really excited about the public end of it, and getting more people involved," Rooney said.
"If people have a stake in something and enjoy it, they're going to fight for it, and that's kind of the Recreation Commission's philosophy."
At the last board meeting, May 12, proposals to replace a seawall and to begin construction of the boardwalk at Water's Edge were adopted.
The construction of the new waterfront park is separate from the golf course and marina and will not disrupt the existing facilities.