The City of Buchanan announced today that it has received a $230,000 grant award from the Michigan DNR Natural Resources Trust Fund for the construction of a new boat launch at Riverfront Park on the St. Joseph River in Buchanan. According to the DNR website, the Buchanan grant application scored the 3rd highest in the State of Michigan out of 105 development applications submitted. The award comes on the heels of last year's submittal that was awarded $230,000 for an ADA-accessible kayak launch at Riverfront Park to be built this spring. Both projects were proposed in the Buchanan-St. Joseph Riverfront Master Plan Project.
Community Development Director Richard Murphy said of the grant award, “The City of Buchanan is moving forward boldly to achieve a vision of a mini-national park type of experience at Buchanan Riverfront Park," he said. "We know that reconnecting more people to the water will deliver more health, quality of life, and economic benefits to our community and the region," Murphy said. "It will take time, but we'll keep applying every year for these grants until the vision is complete. Having done the work up front on the master plan has been key to our success," he said.
Murphy emphasized the project's broader benefits, stating, "Many rust belt cities and towns across Michigan forgot about their strong ties to the water when the jobs left, and economics got tough. Part of our economic comeback is to reconnect to this water culture. It's who we are. Water is the reason Buchanan exists. So, getting back to our essence is our path forward," Murphy said.
The Buchanan-St. Joseph River Riverfront Master Plan was facilitated by Abonmarche Consultants. The Steering Committee was made up of Buchanan community members including former Mayor Sean Denison, Michael Rowland, Jerry Flenar, Jeanne Harris, Fran Tuite, Phil Thornton, George Burgoyne, and Frieda Hughes. The City will continue to engage with community stakeholders including the Pokagon Band and community disability networks as the project approaches design and implementation.
Mayor Mark Weedon said of the award, “We are so happy and thankful to see that our Michigan DNR partners continue to support our vision with these investments in our natural resources in Buchanan. This is an investment in future generations. I want to recognize the hard work and passion of city staff and Buchanan residents working together to reel in these competitive grant awards in order to make Buchanan a better place," Weedon said.
The entire A Vision for Buchanan document can be accessed at www.nicestplacewalk.com
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