Cheboygan State Park among 10 parks to share nearly $16 million in ARPA funding

CHEBOYGAN — Cheboygan State Park will be seeing upgrades to its facilities after being included in a list of 10 Michigan state parks to share nearly $16 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced the "shovel ready" projects in parks all around the state, including in Cheboygan, Iosco, Mackinac, Saginaw, Wayne and Bay counties. These projects range anywhere from lodge upgrades to electrical work and water distribution system upgrades, determined to be critical needs.

"The history of this goes back many years ago," said Michigan Department of Natural Resources Parks and Recreation Division Chief Ron Olson.

The work at the Cheboygan State Park will cost around $750,000 and will include upgrades to the water distribution and electrical systems throughout the modern campground areas. This means the underground water mains will be replaced, along with electrical conduit, meters and distribution panels.

The state park will also have upgraded jug fillers and pedestals for campers to hook up and use electricity. The DNR has also proposed an additional $2 million for investment in the park's sewer system.

Olson said in 2005, the DNR did a complete assessment of the infrastructure in the state parks system. At that time, they totaled up nearly $300 million of items and projects that needed to be addressed. These projects included roads, bridges, culverts, trails, structural projects such as reconstruction of shower facilities and upgrades to utility systems such as water, sewer and electrical, but funds were not available.

A little while later, the state implemented the recreational passport program, an endorsement on a license plate that allows a person to enter any state park around the state. This program generated a large amount of revenue that was set aside for the parks system.

Between 2005 and 2022, some of the projects included on the infrastructure assessment had been completed and others took their place on the list. Last year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed $250 million for restoration of state parks.

"She was well aware of the need because we had kept track of that," said Olson. "And at that time, it was about just under $270 million worth of identified projects that didn't include boating or trails, this was for the state park and recreation areas."

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Olson said the list had changed and evolved over the years and became the basis of need. When the list of projects became finalized for the American Rescue Plan Act funding, there needed to be adjustments made because the construction of a new state park in Flint would cost $30.2 million of the $250 million proposed. So DNR staff culled the list and came up with the list of projects that were the highest priorities, to make sure the "shovel ready" projects received funding, including Cheboygan State Park, as well as several trail projects, such as Lake Linden Trail in the Upper Peninsula.

"Basically, all in all, this has been a long, evolving process and it's been adjusted and tuned annually and that's what's formed the basis of these projects," said Olson.

These projects are being funded with $15,962,000 in funding for the DNR's first phase of upgrades to state parks. The money was made available by Whitmer's $4.8 billion infrastructure package in her Building Michigan Together plan approved in March.

“Michigan’s state parks are beloved, defining features of our beautiful state and because of the bipartisan Building Michigan Together Plan I signed earlier this year, we are investing resources to show our parks some well-deserved love and much-needed TLC,” said Whitmer in a press release announcing the projects. “State parks support tens of thousands of jobs and countless local economies, empowering tourism and recreation small businesses across the state. Together, let’s keep improving them by addressing operational and infrastructure needs and ensure Michiganders have stunning public parks to enjoy for generations to come.”

Olson said some of the projects are not shiny, new things. Some of the projects — like in Cheboygan — have to do with underground water lines that are old, bad sewer lines, or hooking up to municipal sewers.

However, many of the upgrades are also being done to increase accessibility and make sure state park facilities around the state meet and exceed all Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. The DNR is also looking to make facilities as environmentally friendly as possible, with the incorporation of sustainable energy such as solar power.

Olson said many of these ARPA fund projects are out to bid for design and construction right now and it is hoped to have shovels in the ground by this fall. The bid process is open to all contractors, but the DNR hopes to have local companies bid on the projects as well.

State residents who want to keep up with the improvements being made in their area can go to the website Michigan.gov/StateParksProgress. This website includes an interactive map with project locations, details of the project and how it is progressing. There are also facts about local state parks and photos.

Contact Reporter Kortny Hahn at khahn1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @khahnCDT.

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan State Park to share in ARPA funds