Paw Paw River County Park in Watervliet will be expanded now that Berrien County has accepted a $80,000 grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. Commissioner Bill Chickering told the county board on Thursday $30,000 from the county parks millage fund will complete the purchase of 63 acres of property next to the current park. From there, the Berrien County Parks Department will seek to develop Paw Paw River County Park with things like trails or fishing access spots.
“They are going after grant money to develop this piece of property, rather than using other sources of revenue, and in fact, other than a planning phase, we’re not going to develop this property significantly until we get grant money for it,” Chickering said.
Chickering said the acquisition of the additional 63 acres could be complete this week. On a related note, Berrien County Administrator Brian Dissette said voters this week approved a ballot question that will allow the state more flexibility when awarding parks grants from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund. For example, he said those grants will no longer be mostly limited to $300,000.
