Master Plan visions shared with residents

City and Township collaborate; look to the future

 

IMLAY CITY — Like many municipalities, Imlay City and Imlay Township have been working on a collaborative effort to update their Master Plans.

Part of that work has included the two entities meeting together and discussing the future for both communities.

After a successful meeting earlier this summer, the two groups gathered once again at the Imlay City Fire Hall to further share ideas and see information provided by officials with the engineering firm of Wade Trim.

At the most recent meeting on September 23, topics of discussion specific to Imlay City included the Van Dyke corridor, housing, marijuana and future development scenarios. Meanwhile, Imlay Twp. topics include roads, parks, housing, recreation and future land use.

Several who attended the first meeting (July 11) came away impressed with the collaboration between the two entities, and with the strong turnout.

Imlay Twp. Supervisor Rick Farkas said the township has been working on their Master Plan over the past several months and following the first meeting said, “It was great to share ideas (at the first meeting). There was a good mix of people and they split up the groups so no one had all township or all city people in it. Very well run.”

The meeting last week was more of an “open house” style where there were “topic stations” set up and visitors were able to review recommendations.

Imlay City Manager Craig Horton was pleased with the first meeting, saying, “too many times the mentality is “the city” or “the township” so it was a great way to get together and share ideas that will benefit both of us.”

Other ideas previously shared included the idea of a recreation center in the downtown corridor area, complete with study rooms and activities for the younger adults and school age kids would be beneficial.

Farkas was pleased with the concept of the meeting, and the turnout. “This is great” he said. “Since I have been around, I don’t recall something like this (combined meeting) happening. It’s often been an image of “us vs. them” kind of atmosphere some times. I hope we do this again. There were some great ideas that were brought up.”

Imlay City Mayor Joi Kempf who was also at the first meeting was pleased with the shared information.

“Caitlyn (Habben of Wade Trim) had a great idea, in getting us all together. This shows we can work together for the good of the community,” she said. “Not just the city, or just the township, but the whole area. I was happy with the turnout and the balance of township and city participants.”

Habben, who created the event and made sure each group had a mix of township and city representatives said in her opinion, the evening was a success.

“I feel the meeting went very well getting a variety of people from the City and Township to attend. Some of the major themes would include improving walkability along Van Dyke (specifically a cross walk or pedestrian bridge), focus on business incentives for coming to the traditional downtown area, and ensure there are activities for our youth (middle school to high school).”

Residents from the Township and City trickled in throughout the evening on September 23, reviewing the gathered information and speaking with officials from the City and Township.

One of the hot topics was the proposed boulevard that is coming to Imlay City in 2029.

The $10 million project, according to Michigan Department of Transportation officials, will address some of the concerns of citizens with the installation of sidewalks on both sides of S. Cedar St.

Connecting pathways to parks in the area was another topic discussed at length, along with the housing situation in both communities.

The ultimate goal, along with the sharing information between the City and Township, is to have their Master Plans updated, as required by the State of Michigan.

Anyone who may have questions or suggestions is welcome to contact the Imlay City offices at 810-724-2135 or the township hall at 810-724-8835.