The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has received 16 million dollars' of funding from the American Rescue Plan to improve state parks.
The 11 state parks that’ll be repaired will see varying levels of improvements in the first round of projects. Some will see electric and water system upgrades while other projects will remove lead paint from park infrastructures.
Ron Olson, the Chief of Parks and Recreation, said the repairs will take time, so visitors will need to be patient.
“We're hoping that the visitors that we have will understand that, in the end, these are all needed things to be done in the facilities and all will be in better shape once we're finished.”
Olson said the money received from ARPA will help the DNR catch up on projects that have needed immediate attention.
The first round of work will be for obvious repairs of park infrastructure, but later phases will improve and modernize the properties.
The first round of projects will begin as soon as next fall.
