2024 Posts

The proposal approved by the City Commission at their June 3rd meeting is for a new tax in an amount not to exceed 1.2 mills, for 8 years, from 2025 through 2032, to provide funds to the city to acquire, construct, improve, furnish, operate, and maintain parks and recreation facilities. It is estimated that it would raise approximately $834,000 when first levied in 2025 and $7,200,000 over the eight years. … Read More

Specific projects, detailed costs,  project priority, and timing  have not been defined. The City Administration suggested 4 broad categories of potential spending with approximate amounts which when totaled would be between  $6,200,000 and $7,400,000. See excerpt from the Administrative Recommendation below. The ballot language does not restrict the City Commission to specific projects or initiatives. While the funds can only be used to “acquire, construct, improve, furnish, operate and maintain … Read More

As presented in a previous blog post, The City Administration suggested 4 broad categories of potential spending approximated to be between  $6,200,000 and $7,400,000. If the Millage is passed it would raise approximately $834,000 the first year and $7,200,000 over the eight-year proposal. NOTE: While the funds can only be used to “acquire, construct, improve, furnish, operate and maintain parks and recreation facilities” the City Commission has full discretion on … Read More

I focus my blog posts on sharing information that I can back up with sources, in this post I am sharing my opinion. I believe the City should consider creating a Parks & Recreation Advisory Board because it would be an effective way to solve three significant problems I see related to Parks and Recreation in the City of Plymouth. I have blog posts that shar information on each of … Read More

Parks and Recreation Advisory Boards are groups typically established by local governments to provide guidance and recommendations on matters related to parks and recreation. They are established by passing ordinances to define the purpose, authority, and structure of the board. Bylaws provide detailed operational procedures, meeting schedules, and specific duties. These boards act in an advisory capacity only and are commonly responsible for: A good example of such a board … Read More

The City Commission held a Recreation Study Session on May 22, 2024, prior to approving the millage language. The slide shown was part of a presentation given by City Commissioners and Recreation Director. While questions were addressed verbally during the session, the answers were not included in the presentation materials nor the minutes from the session. Although I attended, I honestly do not recall the response to the question, “Why … Read More

Currently, the City of Plymouth does not have a formal parks and recreation sponsorship program. Recently, when a citizen asked about sponsoring a park they were told sponsorships are on hold until after the millage vote. Page 15 of the  5-Year Parks and Recreation Master Plan 2024-2028 states: The 5-Year Parks and Recreation Master Plan 2024-2028 references the City of Plymouth Strategic Plan on page 53 and lists “review park … Read More

Included in the agenda of the City Commission Regular Meeting held on June 3, 2024, was an Administrative Recommendation which outlined seven instances where the public was invited to provide input on matters related to parks, recreation, and the proposed millage. Although these events took place, it’s important to note that there were no public meetings before the millage decision that allowed for open dialogue, where the community could ask … Read More

In 2023, only 395 (27%) of the 1443 participants in the City of Plymouth’s Youth Soccer Programs were residents of the city. The other 73% of participants are from Plymouth Township, Canton Township, and other neighboring communities. The data below is a summary of information provided by the city in response to a FOIA request of participant residency information for each program in the calendar year 2023. Not all programs … Read More

In 2023, only 395 (27%) of the 1443 participants in the City of Plymouth’s Youth Soccer Programs were residents of the city. The other 73% of participants are from Plymouth Township, Canton Township, and other neighboring communities. The data below is a summary of information provided by the city in a response to a FOIA request of participant residency information for each program in the calendar year 2023. Not all … Read More