Chelsea Parks and Recreation Commission discusses Pierce Park improvements

By Lisa Carolin

The first formal meeting of Chelsea’s Parks and Recreation Commission on Tuesday, March 6, began with a discussion about improvements to Pierce Park.

Landscaper Meg Gowen presented a conceptual drawing of some improvements for the park that included a path to connect Pierce Park to the grounds of St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea.

Mayor Melissa Johnson, a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission, says the hospital is receptive to the plan to connect the paths. There was also talk about possibly relocating The Rock to make it more accessible and more visible.

Parks Commission members and Chelsea City Manager John Hanifan talked about the berm between the Gestamp manufacturing facility at 5800 Sibley Road and Timbertown. The goal is to replace more trees and to create a dense area of trees to screen the business from the park.

Johnson said that the size of the berm has gone down so that, “it’s less attractive as a sledding hill. Safety is a key component.”

The Chelsea Planning Commission is expected to take up the Gestamp Amendment Landscape Plan Update at its March 21 meeting.

The Border to Border Trail was also discussed, specifically traffic issues in the Freer Road/Dexter Chelsea Road area. The trail will be constructed on the south side of Dexter-Chelsea Road from Freer Road west to M-52.

On Monday night, the Chelsea City Council unanimously approved the appointment of Andrew Thomson as the Chelsea Community Education representative, Jonathon VanHoek and Sara Wedell as community representatives. Johnson is the City Council representative.

The Parks and Recreation Commission currently has three openings and applications for appointment can be found here.

The group meets the first and third Tuesday of every month at 9 a.m. in either the City Council chambers or if there’s a conflict, the basement of the city offices, and has its next meeting on March 20.