Hagar Township has officially applied for state funding to help construct permanent restrooms at Hagar Park and Beach.
Township Supervisor Izzy DiMaggio tells us the board was told this week the electronic application has now been filed for a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant of $296,000 for the overall $400,000 project. He says the park and beach could use better amenities than what’s there now.
“Hagar Park and Beach, which is also a dog-friendly beach, gets tremendous use throughout the year, but especially during the summertime,” DiMaggio said. “So currently, we just use Porter Johns, but we put in an application for the project with the DNR Trust Fund.”
DiMaggio says the park last summer recorded 25,000 vehicle visits, suggesting a need. Plus, he envisions additional opportunities if the park gets permanent restrooms.
“Which would be about probably three to four public restrooms, gender neutral. So they would be for men and women and so forth. Anybody could use them. But it would be also a good staging point for all these trails.”
DiMaggio says it would be logical for a network of trails all along the Lake Michigan coast to bring visitors to the park.
The township will likely learn in December if its application for the grant has been approved. It if is, the cost to the township for the project would be about $100,000.
