Millersburg Trailhead grant submitted, again

by Angie Asam, Staff Writer

About a year ago, Emily Meyerson, trail coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE), came before the county board of commissioners to ask them to hold a public hearing and pass a resolution of support for grant funding through the Natural Resources Trust Fund for the Millersburg Trailhead project.

The county did that and sent in the grant application, which was then reviewed by the trust fund board. According to county development commission/economic development commission (CDC/EDC) executive director Joe Cercone, a partner on the project, ?it (the grant application) received the highest evaluation possible for a non-urban project,? said Cercone.

However, when the projects were awarded in December the project was denied funding primarily because of an ongoing dispute between the legislature and the DNRE regarding equestrian access to state land. Any project that was before the trust fund board at that time regarding linear parks and trails were basically tabled for the 2009 funding cycle. ?Nonetheless, the board specifically addressed the Millersburg project, indicating that they thought it was an excellent project; and had it not been for this irrelevant political dispute, it would have been funded,? said Cercone.

At Friday morning?s county board of commissioners meeting, Cercone then requested that the boa

rd hold another public hearing on the grant application, which they did, and no public comment was received. Following the public hearing Cercone asked the board to again pass a resolution of support for the project. The board unanimously passed the resolution of support and agreed to send that resolution and a copy of the meetings minutes with the grant application in hopes that the project will get funding this year. The project involves constructing a pavilion-style facility with restrooms, a warming area and parking for the trail being constructed from Alpena to Cheboygan, expected to be completed in 2011.

The trailhead would make Millersburg a destination and could bring plenty of tourism dollars into the county as people come to use the multi-use trail for hiking, biking, snowmobiling and horseback riding. Other features of the trailhead project include open grassy areas, an in-line/ice skating park as well as historical displays.