Bronson council adopts resolution to raise local match for state trail grant

The Bronson City Council voted to adopt Resolution 24-9 to raise the city's local match to 50% for a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund trail grant application, council records show.

City staff told the council the change is intended to improve the city's preliminary scoring and increase the likelihood the project will be funded. The staff presenter said the amendment from a previously pledged 48% match to a 50% match would earn additional points and must be submitted by Oct. 1 to be considered.

Council members discussed the project's scope and budget. The presenter said the overall project cost is about $181,000 and that Bronson's projected contribution would be roughly $108,000; the presenter added the scope grew to include sidewalks, trail heads and parking to meet Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) requirements. The presenter also said staff is working with the city engineer to maximize points in other scoring categories. Those numerical figures were given in the meeting and are reported here as approximate because portions of the transcript were garbled.

Council member Goodbody moved to adopt Resolution 24-9; the motion was seconded (the seconder is not specified in the transcript) and the council voted "all in favor," adopting the resolution. The resolution directs staff to finalize the revised application and the associated match commitment so the submission meets the Oct. 1 deadline.

The resolution supports the city's MNRTF trail grant application and signals the council's intent to fund the local match at the higher percentage. No vote tally with individual member votes was recorded in the transcript; the meeting audio records the outcome as "all in favor."