GENESEE COUNTY, MI – Planners are focusing on repairing a broken electrical system and restoring fountains at Riverbank Park, one of the most visible sections of a new state park being designed and developed in Flint.
Patrick Linihan, director of the Genesee County Parks & Recreation Commission, told the county Board of Commissioners on Wednesday, Oct. 15, that the work is on a to-do list of work expected to be completed in 2026.
Commissioners approved a contract Wednesday that makes Lurvey Construction the project manager for the state park project.
The company will receive $402,173 to serve as project manager for the sprawling state park development, which officials say will connect about 230 acres, including five subdivisions that stretch about 3 miles east to west and 1.5 miles north to south.
Linihan said there is extensive work underway at Riverbank, a neglected park on the Flint River that is owned by the city but leased to the state as part of the $79 million state park project.
“Riverbank Park has been in a state of disrepair for several years,” the director told commissioners. “One of the things that is in poor shape is the electrical system…You will see improvements to the electrical system, particularly in the Saginaw Street area.”
Flint's Downtown Development Authority added new power to an amphitheater in Riverbank a few years ago, Linihan said, but “the rest of the power in the park isn't working.”
Through an agreement with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the county parks system will be responsible for and reimburse for ongoing maintenance, patrols and operations within the state park boundaries.
Other partners in the project include the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the city and the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.
Completed in the early 1980s as part of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control project, Riverbank was designed by renowned landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, who created a series of six separate blocks within it, including the amphitheater as well as fountains and an Archimedes screw along the Flint River.
The planners decided not to retain the screw that originally channeled water from the river into a canal system.
Linihan said the park's well work has been made a priority by state park partners and has been included in the first phase of work, which is expected to be completed by the end of next summer.
Linihan said Thursday, Oct. 16, that there is a $28 million funding shortfall to complete all aspects of the state parks plan — something businesses and organizations are trying to address through fundraising and possibly additional state funding.
In August, the National Park Service's Land and Water Conservation Fund provided a $5 million grant to upgrade Riverbank with new amenities and renovations, including pavilions, picnic tables, benches, bike racks, grilling stations, walkways, accessible paths, ramps, handrails, outdoor exercise stations, lighting and renovated restrooms.
The new state park was announced in Flint by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in March 2022.
When completed, it will be the first state park in the county, which is currently the only county in Michigan without land overseen by the DNR.
In addition to the Riverbank work, the state park's construction plans include the creation of a unique play park at Chevy Commons; new amenities at Mott Park, a 72-acre former municipal golf course; new picnic areas and improved river access at Vietnam Veterans Park; and new public access to the 40-acre Happy Hollow Nature Area.
The park's operations are expected to be funded by a $40 million endowment from the Community Foundation, established with $18 million from the Mott Foundation and $22 million in state funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
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