By Kristyne E. Demske
C & G Staff Writer

UTICA — Fighting an uphill battle to win grant money, the hike and bike trail was given another boost this month from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund.

Mayor Jacqueline Noonan said she and the city’s grant writer, along with state Sen. Mickey Switalski, D-Roseville, and Rep. Tory Rocca, R-Sterling Heights, headed up to Lansing earlier this month to make the case that some of the $8 million in development grants should head the city’s way.

“One of the important things was, I had no idea of the effect of our appeal and our personalization of our request,” Noonan said.

She said the fund had more than $28 million in requests, and at first she was disheartened when she saw that many other projects had scored ahead of the hike and bike trail in their quests for the money.

“When we saw that, our hearts sank because we were well beyond the $8 million if all the highest scored ones were taken in order,” she said.

But she still made her case, pointing out that as a Cool City, Utica should be a destination for pedestrians, also. She also pointed to the fact that the city lost 10 percent of its tax base with the widening of M-59 and it was time for some reciprocation.

“Well, they listened,” she said. “They jumped Utica over some very fine applications.”

The city was awarded $350,000. The money will be matched by the Downtown Development Authority and the Parks and Recreation Commission to put in part of the trail through Utica, including a bridge crossing the Clinton River.

“We were the only community at that public hearing that had our senator and our representative there,” she said. “They stood up and were counted for the little city of Utica.”

Although the money probably won’t be available until fall 2008, Noonan said she’s still very excited. They’re already working on applications for several grants from the Michigan Department of Transportation. Work could start on the trail as early as spring 2009.

“Part of this grant is to bridge it so the portion (of Heritage Park) on the other side (of the Clinton River) that the city owns will also be developed,” she said. “It’s exciting news.”

Bill Lang, superintendent of the Department of Public Works, said the funding provided a vital link to the trail, but the work is not done yet.

“We still have another phase that we’re working on,” he said. “We’re going from Van Dyke, where Van Dyke crosses the river, all the way to downtown Utica. There’s still a connection from downtown Utica to Shelby that we’re still seeking funding on.

“Nevertheless, that’s still good news. Three-hundred and fifty thousand dollars for free is not anything to sneeze at.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kristyne E. Demske at kdemske@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1041.