The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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Sunset Point to be a local attraction
Planners say Ford Lake is an underutilized amenity
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: March 20, 2008
Planners of Sunset Point see the project as a stepping off point for a larger vision of creating greater access to what they believe is Milan's greatest "underutilized" amenity: Ford Lake.
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"In itself it's a very modest proposal to put together," said City Council Trustee Rod Hill. "It will be a nice first step. The principal goal is to find ways for the city to interact more with Ford Lake."
The primary drivers behind the idea, including Hill, Jerry Renning, former mayor Owen Diaz and City Manager Dan Bishop, pitched the project at a Moving Milan Forward meeting.
"This project was seen as a way to get the community behind a 'we can do it' attitude," Bishop said. "The goal was to get people behind little things that could make a positive difference."
The lakeside development plan, estimated to cost about $3,000, calls for around a total of 160 feet of concrete sidewalk extensions on the north and south sides of the Ford Dam spillway to provide access to the strips of land on the west side of Wabash. A 20-foot-by-20-foot concrete pad for new picnic tables will be laid and a border of "goose-barrier" grass will be planted along the shoreline. Decorative safety railings and additional park benches also will be included.
Crosswalks at either end of the bridge will be created, allowing access from near the library and the firehouse.
Funding for the project will come from money raised through the Spirit of Milan effort, which is hoping to encourage 100 people to donate $100 to fund, in addition to Sunset Point, the Fourth of July fireworks, Concerts in the Park, and the Christmas Parade.
Heath Landscape has volunteered to lay and level the concrete, Bishop said, so the major cost will be material.
Planners envision Sunset Point as anchoring the southern end of what someday will be a public promenade connecting the lake and parks together with downtown.
Staff Writer Brian Cox can be reached at 429-7380 or bcox@heritage.com.
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