City commission approves increased public access to Indian Pines Park
The Mount Pleasant City Commission voted Monday to authorize increased pedestrian access of Indian Pines Park via its northeast entrance.
Indian Pines is an 80-acre park owned by the City of Mount Pleasant and Union Township north of Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport. Commissioner Lori Gillis first voiced her concern regarding the lack of access to the park and its use for illegal hunting in February.
Since then, a recommendation of opening an additional entrance has been forwarded and supported by the city commission, parks and recreation and airport advisory Board.
The public has been blocked from park access since 2000.
A current concern is the uncertainty regarding future regulations from the Federal Aviation Administration, who require greater safety precautions to prevent the public from entering the runway areas of the nearby airport. This would force the city to put up fences, signs and other barriers.
“The primary reason the recommendation is for the northeast only at this point is because the parks and recreation master plan did not include this area as a high priority,” said Mayor Kathleen Ling. “There would be an additional cost for signage and maintenance along any other entrances.”
The estimated cost of opening the northeast entrance is $14,000 with an annual ongoing cost of $8,800. Earlier this year, a supplemental budget allocation was authorized of $25,000 for signage.
Only $2,000 has been spent of that budget so far.
With the authorization, the supplemental budget allocation will be reallocated to cover the 2016 enhanced pedestrian access to Indian Pines Park. Following years would require a yearly allocation of $8,800 to keep the northeast entrance open.
A collaborative ordinance to enforce rules when the park is made more accessible to the public is being considered by Union Township and the city.
Hunting is considered an illegal activity in Indian Pines Park. The ordinance would allow police from both the city and township, as well as park rangers, to enforce property rules.
