The Big Rapids Parks and Recreation Commission received an update on the city’s master plan process and community engagement plans at its October meeting, and commissioners and residents discussed possible priority projects including a farmers market pavilion that could double as a refrigerated ice rink, roofing the community pool, and improved trail and downtown connections.

Grant, identified in the meeting as the city’s planning and zoning intern, told commissioners the master plan update process had begun and outlined outreach the city plans to use, saying, “we're planning on doing some, like, community workshops, surveys. We're planning on going to the … the holiday shop. Hopefully, some farmers markets.” He said staff would also use surveys and QR codes at parks and the pool to collect resident input and that he would do the statistical work and charts for the plan.

Why it matters: staff said the existing plan will expire at the end of next year and that an updated planning document is required for some Department of Natural Resources (DNR) grant applications, making the update necessary for future grant eligibility as well as shaping parks and recreation priorities.

Staff described a multi-month engagement and drafting timeline. They said the commission is starting outreach in October, expects to be doing workshops and market outreach through the winter holidays, and aims to have a draft for commission review the following summer (staff mentioned a target of August) with a public review and comment period to follow. Staff also said they plan an earlier holiday-period engagement opportunity downtown to solicit winter-activity input.

Commissioners and residents discussed specific projects that staff said could be carried into the next master plan. One recurring idea was a combined farmers market pavilion and ice-rink structure. Commissioners noted that a previous pavilion-plus-rink concept had been studied and that a refrigerated rink was being considered so skating would not depend on winter temperatures. One meeting speaker described the prior pavilion-and-rink estimate as roughly “3.03 and a half million,” and staff said prior funding mixes included grants and community contributions.

Location ideas and park connections were discussed. Staff and commissioners mentioned a possible pavilion site near the parking lot next to Bernie's, an alleyway and potential overpass between downtown businesses and Mitchell Creek Park, and improved connections between Pocket Park and Mitchell Creek Park. Commissioners also discussed the vacant riverside lot by the skate park and the former industrial site near Simmons; staff said the riverside lot remained for sale and that prior ground contamination and testing had complicated turning the industrial site into a park.

Pool and winter-activity proposals drew multiple public comments. Residents urged consideration of a roof over the community pool to extend use into winter for lessons and year-round programming; one resident noted prior studies had flagged feasibility issues but said “if we're gonna spend $3,000,000 on a pavilion with an ice rink, a million dollars [for a pool roof] is…less of a…oh my gosh, this is impossible.” Staff cautioned that a roof could require remodeling pool infrastructure and environmental or engineering limits might make a roof expensive or infeasible, but they said new technologies and updated engineering could change prior conclusions.

Other recreation ideas raised by commissioners and members of the public included activating rooftop viewpoints or observation decks downtown, creating a sledding hill at Clay Cliffs, adding pump-track or graffiti-wall elements at the skate park (staff said a federal grant application had been submitted in partnership with ArtWorks and the Public Art Collective), and improved winter-programming such as snowshoe or lighted walk events on existing trails. Staff reported they had submitted a separate grant application to the Michigan DNR National Resources Trust Fund Board for the Clay Cliffs Trail and that preliminary scores were higher than the prior year; final award decisions were expected in January.

Staff also provided short operational updates: Ferris student work on the North End Park pavilion is nearing completion, Hemlock Playground replacements are being installed under warranty, and holiday tree maintenance at Sweet Hill and Osceola parks is planned.

No formal commission vote was taken on the master plan itself at this meeting. Commission business noted the chair and vice-chair positions remain to be voted at a future meeting. Commissioners encouraged staff to continue public engagement and to return to the commission with draft documents for formal review and public-comment scheduling.

Ending: Staff asked the public and commissioners to send ideas to staff contacts and said they would keep the commission posted as grant awards and project developments proceed.