Metroparks board approves daily fee increase to $10
Brighton — Huron-Clinton Metroparks officials on Thursday unanimously approved entrance fee increases and a budget that includes a host of new spending initiatives.
With little discussion, the board approved 2016 daily entrance fees of $10. That’s up from $7 now and double the $5 the system of 13 parks in southeast Michigan charged in 2013.
Annual vehicle fees were already increased to $35 from $30 for 2016. Michigan’s state parks, by contrast, cost $11 per vehicle for annual passes.
Metroparks board chairman John Hertel said the system can’t raise taxes beyond the 0.21-mill rate it charges homeowners in five counties. Like other governments, the Metroparks are hurt by declines in home values after the 2008 real estate crash, he said.
“The quality of the parks has been maintained throughout good and bad economic times,” Hertel said.
The fee hike will raise $1.2 million. It will help fund new expenses included in the $50 million budget including a $500,000 expansion to the system's headquarters at Kensington Metropark in Brighton, where the board met Thursday.
The panel also hasn’t ruled out building new offices altogether.
Sterling Heights resident Jerry Sieja asked the board to reconsider.
“If you are going to have increases, they shouldn’t go for new offices ... It’s going to leave a bad taste in people’s mouths,” he said.
Fees also are increasing for other activities, such as cross-country skiing and boat storage and special events such as after-hours fireworks shows, which is increasing to $15 from $10.
The fee increases are expected to help pay for numerous investments, such as an increase in part-time staff, $2 million in new vehicles and mowers and $8.3 million in capital improvements. Big projects include $1.6 million in improvements to the Lake St. Clair Metropark in Harrison Township and $700,000 for boat ramp upgrades at Stony Creek Metropark in Shelby Township.
The fees increased one day after parks officials again rebuffed a land acquisition deal from Southfield developer Todd A. Wyett that he says would have reduced the need for a fee increase.
For nearly four years, he’s tried to buy 30 unused acres owned by the system near Kensington. The triangle-shaped property bordered by I-96, Grand River and Martindale is inaccessible to the public and abuts a mobile home park.
On Wednesday, Wyett offered market value, plus a donation of $500,000 to the parks. He wants to build light industrial office space for a project he said would create 700 jobs.
“This would have paid for their new office. They wouldn’t need to raise the fees so much,” said Wyett, principal of Versa Development.
The Metroparks system owns about 25,000 acres. Officials are studying the system’s inventory and may sell some unused land, but the property near Kensington was bought with federal funds and is difficult to sell, said George Phifer, Metroparks director.
By law, the parks would have to refund the price to the federal government and replace the land with property of equal or greater value. The metroparks took decades to assemble and selling land isn’t done lightly, Phifer said.
“We want to see what’s in the best interest of Metroparks users and people of southeast Michigan,” he said.
Wyett said he’s offered numerous pieces of property over the years and repeatedly restructured the offer. He plans to take up the case with Oakland County and state officials.
JKurth@detroitnews.com
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