Parks, whether federally designated or drawn on a map within a city’s boundary, can be a means of preserving in perpetuity what was there before.

Certainly, improvements may be made over time, but parks can protect pristine natural wonders and untouched wilderness, like Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon, or someplace closer to home, such as Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

Parks might also preserve sites that are culturally significant, or those possessing some important footnotes of our past, like Fayette Historic State Park on the Garden Peninsula or the widely popular Mackinac Island. But as seems to be the case with any kind of park, there is always a price.

Many of us are familiar with the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse, the red brick building perched atop the rock outcrop overlooking McCarty’s Cove on Lake Superior’s shoreline.

A plan for the lighthouse was adopted last week which proposes some modifications to the historic site that had once been used as a U.S. Coast Guard station. With unanimous support Monday, the Marquette City Commission approved the plan, which was prepared by local consulting firm Sanders and Czapski.

Some of the changes outlined in the plan include removing the chain link fence surrounding parts of the property; improving a nearby parking lot and relocating the multiuse path which runs close to the site; installing some signs and access barriers to control circulation and identify historic points of interest; and rehabilitating one of the site’s buildings, the captain’s residence, to be used as a short-term rental unit.

The report notes that the lighthouse park would be open to public use during daylight hours, similar to Presque Isle Park, and city officials said the captain’s residence could have the potential to generate some revenue that would be put back into the site.

But, of course, as with any park, there is a price to be paid.

The plan projects the cost to make those aforementioned improvements at anywhere between $1.6 million and $2.3 million. It’s considerably less than the plan the city commissioned a few years back that looks at moving Lakeshore Boulevard farther away from the shoreline, which is now estimated to cost upwards of $12 million. But still, the lighthouse plan isn’t a cheap one.

City Manager Mike Angeli said the intent is to create an enterprise fund for the lighthouse property, meaning that the money generated at the park will be expected to cover the expenses associated with it, and leave the city’s general fund dollars untouched. We like the sounds of that.

The iconic lighthouse is now more than 150 years old, and — beyond the initial start-up costs related to making the changes called for in the plan — maintaining that piece of history will surely require some funding. Income from the rental property will likely provide some relief in that respect, but whether that will afford the city enough money to make some of those inevitable major repairs down the road remains unknown.

We’re in favor of preserving the lighthouse for future generations, but finding a way so that the park pays for itself — and not relying on a tax hike — is also an important consideration.

At least for now, there doesn’t appear to be anyone calling for higher taxes, but that start-up cash and the long-term maintenance funding has to come from somewhere.

Maybe the plan will just be shelved for a while, next to the one for Lakeshore Boulevard, which, due to stormy weather and waves, has been closed countless times in recent years and has become a frequent problem for the city and an inconvenience to its residents.

Hopefully, there will be some grant dollars available to the city so that it can make those initial improvements and get the lighthouse park up and running. But we hope the city doesn’t have to come to its residents looking to levy taxes. We also hope the lighthouse won’t be shuttered, with the park obstructed by a big “Closed” sign, much like Lakeshore Boulevard.