By Sarah Cormier HARRISON TOWNSHIP — The Harrison Township Board of Trustees has decided to once again move forward with a project that would turn a piece of property — located beneath the I-94 overpass at North River Road, along the Clinton River — into a fishing hole. The area has long been used as a fishing hole by locals, but is littered and needs to be cleaned up. Since 2003, the township has been working to fix up the area and make the site an official fishing hole. “You go there on a Saturday … and you’ll see 15 or so cars there,” said Trustee Mike Rice. According to Rice, who has been working on the project since its inception, the board plans to put in a paved driveway, 12 parking spots, a fishing area along the Clinton River shoreline and an entrance and exit to the area. Landscaping will also be put in, and phragmites in the area will be killed. The park will be closed in the winter. The project seemed to be moving forward in the summer of 2005, but then stalled. Rice brought it back to the board’s attention at a meeting held June 23 and asked that they approve the borrowing of up to $6,000 from the general fund to allow the township’s engineering firm to go ahead with acquiring the permits needed for the project. Once the permits are received, the township can then go out for bid on the construction work that needs to be done. “This is merely to borrow … out of our general fund to feed the engineering costs and the acquisition of the permits to go ahead with the fishing hole,” said Rice. Some of the permits had already been garnered in 2005, and have now expired, so the engineering company will have to reapply for them. In addition, the township originally received some grant money to help fund the project — which Rice believes will cost about $200,000 when all is said and done — and one of those grants is set to expire this year. “If we don’t do it this year, we lose the money,” he said. Township engineer David Nummer explained that the firm would try to stay well under the $6,000 mark to complete work. “Your comments of doing it as cheaply as possible are well noted,” he said. All of the trustees seemed to be onboard with Rice’s proposal. “Let’s get this done,” said Trustee James Ulinski, adding that it is an area that really needs to be fixed up. “That property looks terrible and that’s the northern gateway to our community,” he said. So far, the township has received an estimated $44,300 in monies and equipment donated by local businesses. Moreover, an additional $83,600 has been garnered through grant money and governmental entities. Rice said that those funds will be used to begin the work, and he hopes that after that, more donations and grant monies will be received to finish the rest of the project “once they see what we get accomplished.” Rice believes that once the fishing hole is finished, it will be considered a success. “It’s the first of its kind in the state,” he said. You can reach Staff Writer Sarah Cormier at scormier@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1095. |
