Wednesday, May 13, 2009 is your next big opportunity to make a difference in our community.  Join us at 6:30 pm at Harrison Park Elementary School 1440 Davis Ave NW.  This is the final draft session of the Green Grand Rapids Process.  Nothing is more ‘cool’ than getting involved.

Purpose
What is Grand Rapids’ community vision for parks and greenspace? How do Grand Rapids’ leaders know what is more important to citizens – a neighborhood tot lot within a 10-minute walking distance or a trail system that connects every neighborhood to the Grand River? Are there different priorities for different areas of the city? A process is needed that will engage and listen to citizens throughout the city. Every piece of property must be re-evaluated to determine its relative value and contribution towards meeting parks and greenspace priorities within Grand Rapids.
Process
The Green Grand Rapids process will discuss parks, greenspace and sustainability issues with citizens. A broad-based public engagement strategy is crucial if a vision that represents our community priorities is to be developed. Green Grand Rapids will develop that much needed community vision. This will be a concentrated effort that will be respectful of people’s time and energies. Prior efforts will enable new discussions to be focused and meaningful. Existing plans, including the Master Plan and the diligent work of groups such as the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Parks and Recreation – that examined funding issues – will be recogni
zed and used.

Input
As part of the “grassroots” effort to create a green infrastructure plan, the City needs your input!  Citizen participation in Green Grand Rapids will inform policy makers, city staff, nonprofits and various interest groups about those things that are important to you.  There are a lot of tough challenges facing our community.  Your input will help guide where dollars are spent, how we use our infrastructure and what the cities green priorities should be.

Phase One:
Inventory and Ideas
The Green Grand Rapids project team collected a great deal of information about green infrastructure in the first project phase.  Much of this information has been transferred into our Green Atlas.  Citizens assisted in the colleciton of information and new ideas by playing Green Pursuits.  At the first citywide meeting, Green Gathering: Ideas participants charted a course for important ideas that they wanted to examine and discuss.
Phase Two:
Choices
Ideas generated from Phase One raised a number of questions about priorities and the choices that must be made to achieve community goals.  The feasibility of an idea, its cost and benefit, ability to provide equity and environmental protection, and overall effectiveness will be examined at Green Gathering: Choices.  Citizens will review inventory information and determine the best objectives, strategies and actions for a successful outcome.
Phase Three:
Plans and Actions
Plan concepts that capture the public’s input will begin to create a vision for what an implemented plan would look like.  Five special study areas, including the Grand River, Butterworth Landfill, 201 Market, Joe Taylor Park and Ball-Perkins Park will integrate the community’s ideas into a series of achievable plans.  Citizens will be asked to identify partnering opportunities, funding strategies and prioritize the City’s work plan at the final Green Gathering: Actions.

“The ‘preferred alternative’ outlines 2 phases for improving recreational opportunities in the Grand River. Phase 1 consists of two tasks: modifying the dams downstream of the 4th street dam…”

“The Green Grand Rapids process is a process employed to engage citizens in the creation of a new master plan and zoning ordinance. The City is required to update its Master Plan and Parks and Recreation Plan every five years. Instead of passing a short bureaucratic resolution to update the plans, the City of Grand Rapids Planning Department and Parks and Recreation Department view this as an opportunity to initiate a citywide green infrastructure master planning process called Green Grand Rapids that will focus on quality of life and the physical development of community infrastructure as it relates to greening, connectivity, natural systems, the Grand River, recreation and public health.” Visit Green Grand Rapids

A meeting was held Wed. Jan 14, 2009 at the Eberhard Center, GVSU, Grand Rapids, to discuss the following alternatives regarding recreational use of the Grand River, downtown;

· Enhance the small, beautification dams downstream of the 4th Street dam to create a rapids experience, and possibly construct an easily accessible and safe portage around the 4th Street dam.

· Construct a manmade kayak course, parallel to the river, through Sixth Street Park on the east side or at the location of the Fish Ladder on the west side.

· Modify the 4th Street dam by partially removing a center or side section of the dam, to funnel the flow and create a challenging kayaking course for experienced and recreational paddlers.

· Completely remove the 4th Street dam and construct rapids at various challenge levels to allow a complete river run through the Grand Rapids area with no portages required.

Over 60 kayakers, canoeists and fishermen attended. Most agreed the fishing dam should stay.

On March 23, 2009, we received the following good news, a notification, regarding the Grand River Recreation Opportunities project, from Ms. Wendi Ogilvie, senior environmental specialist with FTC&H, the engineering firm hired to consult with Green Grand Rapids:

To Grand River project contacts, below is an updated schedule for the Grand River Recreation Opportunities project since many of you haven’t heard from me for awhile. We have been working with the various interest groups to get a draft report to the City for their initial approval of the “preferred alternative”. As noted in the schedule, the draft report will be posted on the Green Grand Rapids website for the public’s review early next month.

The “preferred alternative” outlines 2 phases for improving recreational opportunities in the Grand River. Phase 1 consists of two tasks: modifying the dams downstream of the 4th street dam to allow small watercrafts to float through downtown, and creating additional access points for portages around the 4th street dam and other places to enter and leave the river safely. Phase 2 includes the construction of a rapids run on the east side of the 4th street dam, the extent of which will be explored through a more in-depth feasibility study. The Final Report will include the benefits and challenges of the project, examples from other cities, illustrations, concept level cost estimates, and potential funding sources.
3/27 – Send draft River Recreation Opportunities Report to City for review.
4/10 – Respond to comments and submit to City for final approval.
4/15 – Finalize report with illustrations and related resources and send to City to post on the Green Grand Rapids website.
4/15 – Email notice of website posting of draft River Recreation Opportunities Final Report to stakeholder groups for comments, due by 4/27.
4/28 to 5/8 – Revise and finalize River Recreation Opportunities Report.
5/13 – Present “preferred alternative” at breakout session during Green Gathering #3
Thanks to all who have contributed ideas and energy to this process. Looking forward to seeing you at the May 13, Green Gathering #3.
Wendy

Picture this. Below are before and after photos of a low head dam modification project completed on the Midtown Dam on the Red River in Fargo, ND.

Never again will a visitor to our city be overheard saying, “…but, where are the rapids? Why do they call it Grand Rapids?!”