Wonderful news was announced recently: Grants from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources will revitalize two lakeside parks in Marquette County.

The Marquette County Planning Division was awarded $997,600 in Spark grant funding for the revitalization of Little Trout Lake Park at K.I. Sawyer.

And the city of Marquette has been awarded $458,800 from the program. The grant, administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, aims to revitalize the Father Marquette/Lions Lakeside Park area in Marquette.

The funding will also go to transform the former Marquette Chamber of Commerce building into a community gateway and trailhead.

The work at Sawyer, according to an overview put together by the MCPD in July, includes project goals include establishing a community wellness hub at the location. The grant will also allow the county to provide safety and security features as well as amenities to make the park compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The Michigan Spark Grants aim to help communities create, renovate and redevelop areas to create recreation opportunities for residents and tourists.

The Marquette project will rehabilitate the historic South Marquette area and the surrounding park space connecting the trailhead for several local and regional trail systems including the new cultural trail.

The program will see several components which will go into completion of the project. These include the paved trail spur to connect the trail to other regional systems, an ADA approved accessible bathroom, a trailhead information kiosk and entry sign using solar lighting.

The project will also see a reconfiguration of the existing parking lot for better traffic flow and improved stormwater management.

The city will also add green infrastructure to improve the landscaping of the area, as well as the addition of a public water drinking station for filling water bottles.

Funding for the project will be in addition to a recently awarded $583,000 grant from the Michigan Revitalization and Placemaking program the city received last week.

All in all, great the funding will also go to transform the former Marquette Chamber of Commerce building into a community gateway and trailhead.news for the area.