White Lake Township Updates
Stanley Park, Parks & Rec Update 1/2025
Background
For those who are new to the neighborhood, Stanley Park fronts on Brendel Lake on the North Shore on the east end of the lake. The park was the Brendel Lake Campground and was owned by the Stanley Pollack family. White Lake Township purchased the 57-acre property in December of 2019 using a Michigan DNR Trust Fund Grant and 25% matching funds from the Township. The property will remain a park in perpetuity.
COVID slowed things down, but in 2021 a 3-phase development plan was completed. A Land & Water Grant was awarded for the first phase of development. Phase 1 was determined to be installing the road and a walking trail down to the lake from Elizabeth Lake Rd, removing the existing boat ramp, and installing an observation/fishing pier. The full plan can be found on the Township website. lwcf_application.pdf The layout of the Phase 1 development can be found on Page 110.
Current Status
The Land & Water Grant was awarded in 2022, and the project went out for bids anticipating the start of construction in 2023. The bidding process went through delays and in the meantime, high inflation was eating into what could be done for the estimated budget, so it went out for a rebid. Finally, in early 2024, a contract was awarded to begin Phase 1 construction in the summer of 2024. Alas, now the Civic Center project was in full swing, and Elizabeth Lake Road was closed for the entire summer. The Township and the Contractor were at odds regarding timing and the contract was terminated in September.
The General Contractor for the Civic Center project is McCarthy & Smith. To expedite the construction of Stanley Park Phase 1, McCarthy & Smith will manage the Stanley Park project too. The project went out for another bid in late 2024, and at least 8 bids were received. Interviews will be conducted starting January 18, 2025, and it is expected that a contract will be awarded at the February 18th Township Board meeting.
In addition, at the last WLT Park & Recreation Committee meeting on January 8, 2025, a grant proposal was presented to renovate the existing dilapidated cinder block building into bathrooms and a storage/concession facility. Beckett & Raeder (who also designed Stanley Park) will be working with Andrew Littman - Township Planner, to submit the grant proposal by April 1st.
Sincerely,
Steve Woodard
2nd VP External Affairs
Shrink Wrap Recycling- March 2024
White Lake Township is once again offering Shrink Wrap Recycling bags. Bags can be purchased for $7 at the Township Treasurer’s office. This program was suggested to the township last year by a concerned citizen. It was very successful, and over 200 bags were recycled. Plastic film (e.g. shrink wrap) and bags are not recycled by GFL (even if you put them in the recycling bin).
"Dr. Shrink" is a program being used at marinas around the state and is growing into communities like ours where there are hundreds of boats being wrapped for winter storage. The $7 cost covers the Dr. Shrink bag, and shipping to the recycler on the west side of the state. This is NOT a government program, and it is NOT a tax. All of the money is passed through to Dr. Shrink who uses the material to make TREX composite decking.
Please recycle your shrink wrap rather than sending it to the landfill. It is easy to do and well worth the $7. Bags must be dropped off next to the Township Hall dumpster (by the Police Department) prior to Memorial Day to make the shipping date. Below are a couple of links for reference.
White Lake Twp Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02cNY...
Recycle Used Shrink Wrap Covers - Dr. Shrink (dr-shrink.com)
Thanks,
Steve Woodard
2nd VP External Affairs LVIA