Midland County Parks and Recreation Master Plan 2020-2024 Draft 12-16-2020 Plan Adopted January _____, 2021 Midland County Recreation Plan 2020-2024 1 Draft December 16, 2020 Page left intentionally blank. Midland County Recreation Plan 2020-2024 2 Draft December 16, 2020 Midland County Parks and Recreation Master Plan 2020-2024 Midland County Parks and Recreation Commission 2020-2021 Roy Green, Chair Lynn Evans Steve Glaser, Secretary Richard Corbat Jeanette Snyder Jim Malek Douglas Enos Maureen Middleton Mike Atton Midland County Board of Commissioners 2020-2021 Mark Bone, Chair Jeanette Snyder James Geisler, Vice Chair Steve Glaser Gaye Terwillegar Scott Noesen Eric Dorrien Bridgette Gransden, County Administrator/ Controller Midland County Parks and Recreation Commission Staff John Schmude, Director Patrick Clark, Manager Prepared with Assistance From PM Blough, Inc. PO Box 102 Grand Haven, MI 49417 Phone: 616.402.2398 Midland County Recreation Plan 2020-2024 3 Draft December 16, 2020 Page left intentionally blank. Midland County Recreation Plan 2020-2024 4 Draft December 16, 2020 Table of Contents (To be Updated at Plan Completion) Introduction Section 7 Plan Introduction 8 Community Description Section 9 Community Description 10 Midland County Location Map 11 Midland County Political Boundaries 12 Population Statistics 13 Land Characteristics 14 Map of Major Transportation Routes, Rivers & Natural Resources 15 Administrative Structure Section 17 Midland County Parks and Recreation Commission 18 Management Structure and Staff 19 Organization Chart 19 Volunteer Assistance 20 Programming 20 Finances and Budget 20 Relationships with School Districts, Other Public Agencies, Private Organizations 21 Recreation Inventory Section 23 Midland County Parklands 24 Midland County Park Location Map 25 Parkland Classifications 26 Park Facilities Inventory Chart 27 Sanford Lake County Park 28 Veterans Memorial Park 31 Manitou Park 34 Pere-Marquette Rail-Trail of Mid-Michigan 37 Laur Big Salt River Park 39 Pine Haven Recreational Area 42 River Trails Heritage Park 45 Chippewa River and Fishing Access Site 48 Tittabawassee River and Fishing Access Site 49 Verity & Fike Road Property 50 Other Recreational Resources within Midland County 52 Chippewa Nature Center 52 The Little Forks Conservancy 53 Riverview Natural Area 54 Midland County Recreation Plan 2020-2024 5 Draft December 16, 2020 Szok Preserve 55 Averill Preserve 56 Forestview Natural Area 57 City of Midland Parks 58 Township and Village Parks 65 Regional Tri-County Park Facilities 66 ADA Accessibility Assessment of Existing Parks 68 MDNR Grant Inventory and Grant Post Completion Forms 71 Goals and Objectives Section 75 Goals and Objectives 76 Action Program Section 81 Proposed Action Program 82 Project Location Map 84 Planning Process and Adoption Section 85 Planning Process 86 Review and Updating of Previous Plan 87 Existing Park Inventory, ADA Assessment & Grant Project Reviews 87 Midland County Parks 2020 Survey 87 Email Notice of Public Survey 88 Draft Plan, Goals & Objectives, and Action Plan 88 30 Day Public Review and Comment Period 88 Public Hearing Advertisement and Minutes of Public Hearing 88 Recommendation for Adoption from County Parks and Recreation Commission 88 Plan Adoption and Resolution by Midland County Board of Commissioners 88 MDNR Recreation Plan Certification Checklist 89 Transmittal of Plan to Midland County Planning 90 Transmittal of Plan to East Central Michigan Planning & Development Region 90 Transmittal of Plan to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources 90 Appendices Appendix A Midland County 2020 Parks Survey Appendix B MDNR Grant Post Completion Forms Midland County Recreation Plan 2020-2024 6 Draft December 16, 2020 Introduction Section Midland County Recreation Plan 2020-2024 7 Draft December 16, 2020 Introduction Section This plan document, Midland County Parks and Recreation Master Plan, 2020-2024 was created to replace the previous plan, Midland County Parks and Recreation Master Plan, 2014-2018. This plan will serve as a guideline to improve recreation facilities and opportunities within the County. This plan is a revision of the previous plan to provide an updated county-wide vision for recreation. The plan forms the basis to guide policy for implementation of improvements and new initiatives that will meet or exceed the recreational goals and interests of the Midland County community. The Midland County Parks and Recreation Commission provided the oversight of plan development with final adoption by the Midland Board of Commissioners. This plan began with the evaluation of the existing parklands, facilities, operations and community data, followed by the inclusion of the public input through a Midland County 2020 Parks Survey, pubic open house, a 30 day public draft review process, and a formal Public Hearing. This input was a critical component to the plan. Midland County Recreation Plan 2020-2024 8 Draft December 16, 2020 Community Description Section Midland County Recreation Plan 2020-2024 9 Draft December 16, 2020 Community Description Section The Community Description Section of the plan provides an overview of geographic area of Midland County which this plan is based on. Location within the State of Michigan and Political Boundary Midland County is in Central Lower Michigan and includes 16 townships, two cities, and one village. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 528 square miles, of which 516 square miles is land and 12 square miles (2.2%) is water. Adjacent counties include Gladwin County to the north, Bay and Saginaw Counties to the east, Isabella County to the west, and Saginaw and Gratiot Counties to the south. Organized in 1851, Midland County was settled as a lumbering and fur trading community. Outside of the urbanized area in and around Midland, the county remains largely rural with large stands of woodlands and agricultural lands. The City of Midland is the county seat. Midland County is home to the world headquarters of The Dow Chemical Company, a Fortune 500 company. Midland County Recreation Plan 2020-2024 10 Draft December 16, 2020 The map below provides an overview of the location and political boundaries of the County. Midland County Location Map Midland County Recreation Plan 2020-2024 11 Draft December 16, 2020 Midland County Political Boundary Map Midland County Recreation Plan 2020-2024 12 Draft December 16, 2020 Midland County Population Based on the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Midland County was 83,629, an increase of 755 persons over the decade from 2000, indicating a slight growth rate even during the economic recession. The 1990 population was at 75,651, showing a growth rate of approximately 9.5% from 1990 to 2000, and a growth rate of approximately 1% from 2000 to 2010. Midland County Population Growth Based On 1990-2010 US Census Data 86000 84000 82000 80000 78000 76000 74000 72000 70000 1990 2000 2010 The population within the county is distributed with approximately half of the population living within the City of Midland, while the other half is fairly evenly distributed throughout the county in rural and wooded areas. The age distribution of the population in 2010 based on the US Census provided data for the population distributed as follows: Under the age of 18 years 19,855 24.4% 20-24 years 5,287 06.4% 25-34 years 8,989 11.5% 35-49 years 17,515 21.5% 50-64 years 17,180 21.1% 65 years and older 12,384 15.1% The median household income based on the US Census data for the years 2008-2012 was $52,947. Approximately 12.2% of the population lives below the poverty level. Midland County Recreation Plan 2020-2024 13 Draft December 16, 2020 Land Characteristics Midland County totals approximately 516.25 square miles or 338,000 acres with a density of 162 persons per square mile. There are large tracts of public or semi-public lands in the County. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) controls most of these lands with nearly 40,000 acres belonging to the Au Sable State Forest. The other public lands are largely County, City, and Township parks. The following map depicts the Conservation and Resource Lands (CARL) in Midland County, based upon mapping data from the Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited. The Pine, Chippewa, and Tittabawassee Rivers are the three major rivers that flow through Midland County. They are complimented by Sanford Lake, which is a widened portion of the Tittabawassee River. The green shaded areas, on the map below, show publicly and privately held conservation and resource lands. The two bodies of open water in the southern portion of the County near the Tittabawassee River are a brine pond for The Dow Chemical Company and a cooling pond for Midland Cogeneration Venture. (Source: The Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited). Four major roads carry traffic across Midland County and to major destinations within the county. US-10 enters the east side of the county near Midland and heads to the northwestern corner of the county heading toward Clare. M-20 bisects the county, beginning on the eastern side at Midland and heading west to Mount Pleasant in Isabella County. M-18 and M-30 each head northward from M-10 carrying traffic to Gladwin, Beaverton, the Edenville area and other points northward. Natural Resource Inventory A resource inventory can be used to identify open space areas that may be desirable for protection and/or public access through acquisition or other means. Most of the significant natural resources in Midland County have been listed or described elsewhere within this document. They include the Pine River, Chippewa River, Tittabawassee River, Sanford Lake, Au Sable State Forest, and large stands of forest lands. There are also large stands of forest lands including large stands of old growth forest. In addition to their intrinsic value, these old growth forest lands also provide unique wildlife habitats, wildlife and plant community observation, as well as hunting opportunities.