State approves funding for PM Township acquisition of Dow property.

State approves funding for PM Township acquisition of Dow property.

#MasonCountyNews.

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

PERE MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP — Pere Marquette Charter Township is getting close to acquiring property currently owned by Dow Chemical along Pere Marquette Lake, including the property known locally as Dow Park. Supervisor Paul Keson announced today that the township’s application for a Michigan Natural Resource Trust Fund grant for $839,400 has been recommended for funding.

“Pere Marquette Charter Township is very pleased with this announcement and is looking forward to completing the acquisition process for the 316 acre property during the coming year,” Keson said. “The collaboration with our project partners at Dow Chemical Company and the Land Conservancy of West Michigan, along with the outstanding community support we received in preparing the application, proved to be a winning formula.” PM Township received top scoring among the 33 acquisition projects submitted for the grants in 2017.

The property includes 312 feet of Lake Michigan frontage adjacent to Buttersville Park, more than one miles of frontage of Pere Marquette Lake and a half mile of frontage on the Pere Marquette River.

The township intends to open the property for recreational purposes. Keson said the goal is for the township to complete acquisition by the end of 2018. “Until PM Township formally takes possession of the Dow owned property, it remains private property and is not open to the public,” he said.