Michigan Senate Bill 1028 has passed the Senate and now awaits action by the House Appropriations Committee before it can be voted on by the House and signed into law by the Governor. This critical legislation, which funds local park acquisition and development projects through the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, will deliver eagerly anticipated and much-needed Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) dollars for the current fiscal year – FY 2021-2022. With many Southeast Michigan parks seeing a 35% increase in usage during the pandemic, the need for passage of these dollars is urgent!
As this bill awaits passage, communities across the state are losing valuable time during the summer construction season to implement projects that enhance the quality of life for Michigan residents and support the state’s tourism economy. Additionally, each day that passes enables the inflationary cost increases that we see across-the-board for construction projects to balloon further. If the costs continue to trend upward before projects can be obligated, this could jeopardize the ability for some communities to implement these recreation enhancements. Delaying this appropriation does not make practical or fiscal sense.
The MNRTF continues to be the largest source of grant funding for parks in Michigan, as it has been for more than 40 years. The Trust Fund is unique to our state and is funded solely by the revenues from the sale and lease of oil, gas, and mineral rights on state-owned land. These revenues are critical to maintain and enhance regionally significant trails, public access to lakes and rivers, universally accessible amenities, hunting access, and wildlife habitat.
Southeast Michigan’s recreation system includes more than 2,300 parks, covering 214,000 acres. They are connected by more than 400 miles of trails and greenways and 450 miles of designated water trails. These assets are managed by a wide variety of stakeholders, and collectively provide a critical public service to more than 4.8 million residents. Understanding the roles and priorities of recreation providers, partners, and participants is key to realizing SEMCOG’s vision of Southeast Michigan as a connected, thriving region of small towns, dynamic urban centers, active waterfronts, diverse neighborhoods, parks, trails and natural areas.
Access to outdoor recreation supports our economy as well as physical and mental well-being of our communities, and allocating Trust Fund dollars without unnecessary delay is essential to the continued enhancement our region’s parks and trails system. I encourage you to contact the House Appropriations Committee to remind them of the urgency of allocating Trust Fund dollars and moving forward with SB1028.
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