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County parks open Willam Preserve and kayak rentals; 4-H leaders raise concerns about fair barn access
Summary
Kalamazoo County Parks announced Willam Preserve is now open seven days a week and kayak rentals are available at Bass Lake; 4-H leaders told commissioners they face limits on barn use for the county fair and asked for clearer communication and safety fixes.
Kalamazoo County parks staff announced the Willam Preserve has moved to a seven-days-a-week public schedule and launched a kayak rental program at Bass Lake. Director Dave Rakowitz said a formal ribbon-cutting and grand opening are planned for September and that Juneteenth will be a free day across county parks in partnership with local municipalities.
"This past week was the first week that the new Willam Preserve went to open 7 days a week," Rakowitz said, and noted youth programming by the YMCA at the site and the new kayak rentals that allow the public to launch from Bass Lake.
During the Committee of the Whole public comment period, Andrea McCubbin, president of the Kalamazoo County 4-H leaders council, raised concerns about a lack of transparency around the county fair. McCubbin said Michigan State University Extension is running the fair as a 4-H showcase and that 4-H groups have been prevented from using barns (referred to as barns 19 and 20, the former dairy barn and the former 4-H draft-horse barn). She said organizers were given three days' notice to vacate stored items and that still-exhibit judging may be forced outdoors, which would expose children's projects to heat, wind and rain.
McCubbin urged correction of safety concerns and asked why the Expo Center was not available as an alternative. She and other 4-H leaders offered volunteer labor to move or reorganize stored items and asked county parks staff for clearer communication.
Rakowitz responded later in the regular meeting that items removed by the county would be restored and that parks staff would follow up. He also invited commissioners and the public to the upcoming grand-opening events and encouraged residents to take advantage of free park access on Juneteenth.
The county will follow up with fair organizers and 4-H leadership to address barn access, safety concerns and contingency plans for judging in inclement weather; no formal board action was taken.
