Berrien County parks director outlines repairs, grant-funded projects and budget shortfall ahead of 2026

Jill Adams, parks director for Berrien County, told the county Board of Commissioners at a Committee of the Whole meeting that repairs and several grant-funded improvements were completed in 2025 and that staff will seek grant funding for larger capital projects in 2026.

Adams said county staff completed major sidewalk repairs and an entrance lane extension at Silver Beach County Park and that a spark grant helped pay for a new playground. “The entrance lane extension and sidewalk diversion project at Silver Beach was also completed this year,” Adams said. She added that the changes “proved to [have] many benefits to the management of pedestrians and vehicles at the park.”

The parks department demolished the river shelter at Madeline Bertrand County Park in Niles and has ordered a replacement pavilion paid for with grants and donations. Adams also described multi-month repairs to the disc golf course and said staff are working on a materials management plan driven by recent…