Benton Township has hired a contractor to construct a new park in the Benton Heights area.
At a meeting this week, the board of trustees selected the lower of two bidders, Mugen Construction of Dorr, for the work. Township Supervisor Cathy Yates tells us ground will likely be broken in December on the new Euclid Park on ten acres of property near the intersection of Euclid and Laurel avenues, behind the former Martindale Elementary School.
“We’re going to have things for children like swings, a slide,” Yates said. “We’re going to have a canopy so that people can sit and enjoy, have a picnic along with some grills. We’re going to have a walking path. We did want a splash pad, but we’re unable to do that because we can’t get township water and putting in a well would be too expensive. We don’t have enough money.”
The township is using a $1 million state grant for the project.
Yates says a goal for the future is to add that splash pad and build a fence around the park. That’s not all.
“We’re still looking at getting Martindale School demoed, hopefully by the end of this period, because we want it to be safe and we don’t want kids wandering in there because it’s an abandoned building.”
The township building department is now in the process of laying the groundwork for the school demolition. Mugen Construction’s bid for the project came in at $812,000.
Yates says the township will hold a special ceremony when ground is broken next month.
