DOWAGIAC — The Dowagiac City Council passed the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund on Monday to help fund an upcoming park in the city, the Cass Avenue Trailhead.

The park has been an empty lot for as long as anyone can remember, but in the last five to six years, the city council has wanted to turn the lot into a park.

“We’ve had a plan to take where an old garage has been and turn it into a really nice neighborhood park,” said City Manager Kevin Anderson. “It’s going to have an open air pavilion, a parking lot, a fishing area [and] some picnic areas.”

The city of Dowagiac bought the property seven years ago, and the council has since contemplated with what they could do with it. It was not until about four years ago when the council drew up a few different ideas for what they wanted the park to look like. After a decision was made on which plan they were going with, the council applied for a grant to help fund the project.

“Seventy-four percent of this project will be paid for through the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund,” Anderson said. “And the other 26 percent will be paid by city funds, so basically the city is going to have about $60,000 into the $300,000 project.”

The council will continue to search for funding through other organizations to take the burden off of the taxpayers.

Anderson said about four or five months ago, the city council was told that the request for funding had been approved and all they had to do was agree to the terms. The first resolution they had to agree to was the trust fund, which was an immediate decision.

“This was a boilerplate agreement,” Anderson said. “There wasn’t really a lot to talk about because they know this project inside and out.”

The city council expressed its excitement and confidence in the project going forward.

“By this time next year, we should see a hub of activity there,” Anderson said.

The field area is not a welcoming and encouraging place for people to stay right now, but the soon-to-be park has brought fishermen and fisherwomen to the area regardless.

The rest of the city council meeting also discussed the policy and procedure for granting, auditing and removal of property exemptions, which passed without question, and directing the city treasurer to pay for bills and payroll, which also passed without question.