Residents urge council to delay Mishiquis Park road closure, request public meeting

Several residents urged the Alpena City Council on May 5 to slow or reconsider planned changes at Mishiquis Park, asking the council to hold a public meeting so neighbors can review revised plans and ask questions.

Becky Durfee of 525 Thunder Bay Avenue told the council she is a descendant of Michael Padd and said family history and long-term neighborhood use make the proposed changes personal. Durfee said the plan discussed five years ago should be revisited because the neighborhood has changed and residents who now live there were not part of the earlier process. “I would just like to publicly ask for that meeting,” she said.

Residents who spoke raised several recurring objections: moving the park entrance and parking closer to houses, closing a circular road that currently provides near-shore vehicle access, relocating volleyball courts away from the beach, and constructing a paved pathway through a sandy, high-water-table area that speakers said will require heavy maintenance.

Eric Peterson, who said he and neighbors collected signatures on social media, said a petition posted on Facebook drew 209 signatures opposing the road closure and that older surveys cited by staff do not reflect current neighborhood views. “If this five minutes does really matter and you are listening to the people, then please listen to the people,” he said, urging the council to keep the road open while the city works through longer-term plans.

Annette Carstens, who said she visits the park almost daily, argued the park’s “rustic” loop and gravel drive are a distinctive natural feature and warned that a paved path placed within sandy beach areas will heave and crack and will be costly to maintain in a high water-table area. Carstens also said migratory shorebirds — she named black-bellied plover and common snipe — use the site and that preserving habitat is a community asset.

Speakers asked the council to consider alternatives already discussed, including leaving the gravel drive in place, moving the playground closer to parent supervision instead of next to drive aisles, or relocating some active uses such as pickleball to other sites such as Bayview. Several commenters said changing vehicle access would reduce year-round informal use of the shoreline, particularly for older or mobility-limited visitors who currently can park closer to the water.

Mayor Cindy Johnson closed public comment after the speakers; no formal council action on the Mishiquis Park plan was taken during the May 5 meeting. Multiple speakers explicitly requested a supplemental public meeting or workshop so planners and neighbors can review updated drawings and maintenance estimates.

City staff did not present a response to the detailed maintenance or wildlife claims during the public comment period; council members did not vote on the park design or the road closure at this meeting.

If the council chooses to act later, staff and project materials should clarify (1) the timeline and forum for additional public meetings, (2) maintenance-cost comparisons (gravel versus paved or wood-chip pathways) and who would pay those costs, and (3) any predicted changes to public access patterns — including effects on visitors with limited mobility.

For now, Mishiquis Park remains subject to the city’s existing plan; residents who spoke asked simply that the council reopen discussion with a public meeting before implementing any irreversible changes.