11/28/2006

Millage to pay for snowmobile trailhead in Cheboygan County

BY SHERI McWHIRTER

sherimcwhirter@hotmail.com

INDIAN RIVER — A small strip of state land may be sold to a local township for a snowmobile trailhead, part of a major park project in Indian River.

A 1.25-acre parcel along an old railroad track may be sold to Cheboygan County's Tuscarora Township for $26,545 in December. The 2,000-foot-long area eventually would become a parking lot for snowmobile riders during winter months, as well as for boaters, bicyclists and hikers at Marina Park in the summertime.

Township voters recently approved a new three-year tax of 1.25 mills to fund two recreation projects, including the park and a seawall upgrade at a swimming hole called Green Docks.

"The millage is on the tax bill in December and as soon as people pay their taxes, we'll have the money to get going,” said Diane Hahn, township clerk.

An 80-space parking lot will sit next to a snowmobile trail and township park, plus a planned marina on the Indian River that may be developed in five years, if voters agree.

Approved funding for the park will include construction of a new boat launch with double ramps, removal of the River Street railroad line viaduct, a new snowmobile trailhead and parking lot, plus the lowering of the railroad grade between the park and South Straits Highway.

The site is a former campground where Little Sturgeon River flows into Indian River and the work will cost taxpayers about $383,000. A $350,000 state waterways grant will help build the boat launch.

An adjacent state trail will be covered with crushed limestone for summer use and also will be a designated snowmobile route, said David Freed, land management chief for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

That route connects to a new trail along the western side of Mullett Lake that will be open to snowmobile traffic for the first time this season, providing a direct link for a snowmobile path that stretches from Gaylord to Cheboygan.

State officials overturned this year a previous trail restriction against motorized vehicles along that lakeshore in Cheboygan County.