Last year was a great year for the Mott Park Recreation Area. We received support through Kettering University for our grounds maintenance efforts, we received grants for the development of a Disc Golf Course and we actually built it and opened it. This year, we are working with the Flint River Watershed Coalition to install a Canoe and Kayak Launch Site on the banks of the Flint River.
The engineering studies for the launch site are complete and the permitting process is underway. We hope construction will begin shortly and the site will be ready for the Flint River Flotilla which is scheduled for Saturday, August 4, 2018.
Over the winter, a forestry firm removed a large cottonwood tree which had fallen across the river between the two footbridges. This spring, the brush and lower tree branches, and a couple dead trees, were cleared around the parking lot and the club house to improve visibility for aesthetic, safety, and security reasons. Our association worked with the city of Flint on these projects.
In a response to last fall’s problems in the parking lot, the city has had new security cameras installed in the club house and the maintenance barn, and will soon have more installed in the parking lot now that the forestry work has been completed. These cameras are part of the Flint Police Department’s C.A.T.T.-EYE program to provide real-time monitoring and a prompt response to security issues at businesses and other locations in our community. The association had C.A.T.T.-EYE signs and a flashing green beacon installed to advise our users, our neighbors, and any potential violators that the system is in place.
In the meantime, our 18-Hole Disc Golf Course has been thriving. Despite cold and snow, it was used by golfers throughout the winter months. Often they brought shovels with them to remove snow from the tee pads. With the end of winter, there were a few times when the river was high and much of the course was under water and some of the target baskets were clogged with flood debris, but the waters receded and the golfers and course workers returned to removed the debris. We did lose our practice target to a collision with a snowmobile, but we expect to have it re-installed soon.
Lately, our problems have been the phenomenal rate of growth of the grass on the course combined with frequent showers which have kept portions of the rec area too wet to mow regularly. Our groundskeepers are working hard to keep up the course and pasture areas and are hoping for slightly dryer weather as summer approaches.
We are monitoring the dam removal projects upstream and are hopeful that the water flows in the river will be sufficient to support canoe and kayak traffic and fishing opportunities.
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