The Hagar Township Board of Trustees is seeking a grant to help pay for some improvements at Hagar Park and Beach.
Hagar Township Supervisor Izzy DiMaggio tells us the board voted this week to seek a $300,000 grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund to cover most of the cost of the project.
“To put in three permanent restrooms at our very popular Hagar Park and Beach,” DiMaggio said. “We’ve got a project estimate from Abonmarche in the amount of $400,000. If successful, we’ll get $300,000, or about 75%, from the state of Michigan.”
DiMaggio says they currently use porta potties at the beach, which last summer attracted more than 45,000 people. He says the park and beach are well positioned to be much more than a small stop along the road.
“It’s a very important project because Hagar Park is part of that regional trail network. It connects the Lake Michigan Water Trail, and it could be a natural staging and rest location for users of the Lakeshore Trail.”
DiMaggio says the park and beach could eventually be a stop off point along a trail system extending all the way from Chicago into communities throughout Michigan.
The board of trustees last year hired Abonmarche to do the engineering for the new restrooms. If the grant is approved, the cost to the township would be about $100,000.
