Whitmer to pitch $150 million for local park upgrades
Orchard Beach State Park's Historic Shelter Building Move
GRAND HAVEN, Mich. - The Michigan governor is announcing a new proposal to invest $150 million into local public recreation facilities.
Gretchen Whitmer's next plug for where the state ought to throw its extra billions will be made in Grand Haven.
She says the dollars are needed to address an infrastructure backlog that has inhibited the state's local parks from modernizing and keeping up with offering new recreation opportunities.
It "also will continue to attract tourism and economic development to communities rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic," according to a release from the governor.
Whitmer will be speaking alongside her Department of Natural Resource director and county leaders in Ottawa a little after 12 p.m. Tuesday.
The state has lots of extra money to spend after COVID-19 relief was approved by the federal government, which gave states a way out of their budget deficits while recouping losses from the pandemic and even bolstering infrastructure in several areas.
RELATED: Michigan DNR completes move of historic state park shelter
That includes proposals from Whitmer for more child care, small business relief, and help offset the difference that businesses need in order pay workers $15 wages.