By Lisa Carolin
The Chelsea City Council adopted the resolution to adopt the Parks Plan Update at its Nov. 1 meeting.
That was one of the subjects discussed by the Chelsea Parks Commission at its Nov. 2 meeting via Zoom.
Chelsea City Manager John Hanifan said that the Parks Plan Update, which is a guide for city council, will be submitted to the State of Michigan.
Hanifan also told Parks Commission members that City Council voted against dedicating the property acquired at 400 N. Freer Road a year ago as parkland. Mayor Melissa Johnson, the city’s liaison to the Parks Commission, called it a missed opportunity.
Parks Commission members had the chance to view a map of anticipated residential development in and immediately surrounding Chelsea.
Hanifan said there are close to 1200 units that have a strong likelihood of getting built in the next five years with the potential of another 1,000 more units getting built. That would double the city’s existing number of units, adding to the need for additional park space and recreation. He called land Chelsea’s most scarce resource. (See map at the end of the story.)
Johnson said that Chelsea is extremely “underparked”.
The Letts Linear Park trail section from Sibley Road that winds around Timbertown has been delineated by an excavator according to Hanifan. He said now it’s a race against cold temperatures to get concrete poured. The county portion of the Border to Border Trail will connect from M-52 to Sibley Road.
Hanifan said he recently met with a group of pickle ball players at Timbertown. The group is working hard to come up with ideas for court space and had a site plan laid out for the Timbertown area.
The new Chelsea City Council will take office Nov. 15, and there will be a new liaison replacing Johnson. Hanifan suggested skipping the Park Commission’s December meeting and scheduled the next meeting for Jan. 4, 2022 at 9 a.m.
