BEAVER ISLAND and CENTRAL LAKE, Michigan – August 22, 2002 – Community enhancement project applications submitted by St. James Township and the Village of Central Lake, with aid from engineering consulting firm Moore & Bruggink Inc., received approval for grant monies and preliminary engineering work has begun on the two projects:

Extension of Donegal Bay Trail on Beaver Island. St. James Township, through the Charlevoix County Road Commission, is extending the Donegal Bay Trail on Beaver Island from a main town intersection to the St. James Campground to the existing trail system along Kings Highway and Main Street, which connects to the Gull Harbor Natural Area. The path overlooks Lake Michigan and Hog, Garden and Squaw Islands. 

The Village of Central Lake Downtown Streetscape Beautification project includes new lighting, brick pavers, trees and steel furniture.

"When it comes to gravel, two lane roads like we have out there along Kings Highway, everyone is cursing someone; yet it's only a matter of finding a way for everyone. This trail will make the road a little safer and comfortable for bike riders, pedestrians, and drivers," said Don Vyse, St. James Township Supervisor. "We were looking at the clearing along side the road where the new sewer lines run and we thought wouldn't it be nice if we had a trail leading right down to the lake," explaining how the idea for the Donegal Bay Trail project came about last year.

"Tying in above ground enhancements to infrastructure improvements is an approach that saves time and money," said Gary Voogt, a licensed engineer and president of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based engineering consulting firm Moore & Bruggink, Inc. The engineering firm plans municipal sewer, water, road paving, and other infrastructure improvements around the state.

According to Voogt, smaller municipalities often face what he calls the `But-For Challenge': "We could attract a company and jobs, but-for no road. We could attract more tourists, but-for the fact that our downtown sidewalks and streets are falling apart. We could provide a safer environment for our residents, but-for these two highways running through town."

MDOT TEA enhancement project grants and similar funding sources, which match state and county funding with community match funds, have made an enormous difference in the appearance of Michigan's landscape, creating economic development opportunity in towns that would generally be hard-pressed to raise improvement funds from tax dollars alone."

"People don't realize how much these special grants, distributed over the past four years, have impacted economic development and lifestyle in Michigan communities," said Voogt, whose firm has completed more than a dozen MDOT-funded Enhancement Projects in recent years, including renovation of Pentwater's downtown and a skyway trail connecting three communities along the Lakeshore near Grand Haven.

"Grants were the only way we completed our downtown sewer renovation, Main Street renovation, and airport improvements on Beaver Island this past year," said Vyse. "Larger cities count on revenue-sharing, which is based on population; we don't gain much with that approach. We levy two mils for sidewalk and roads and all we can do is accumulate funds over the course of time; it might take decades."

St. James Township's two greatest challenges were identifying a strategy to complete long-overdue infrastructure projects most practically and paying for improvements with the island's limited tax base. "Completing several projects at once allowed the Township to issue a contract to a single contractor, making it feasible to actually mobilize an asphalt plant on the island," said the Supervisor. The cost of mobilizing the asphalt plant alone exceeded $100,000.

"The strategy Moore & Bruggink developed to package and manage these projects to solicit grant monies and coordinate work was an imperative for us," Vyse said, recalling the patchwork surface that had been the town's main street until this Fall. Beaver Island broke in the new street surface and sidewalks with it's 4th of July Parade.

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