Nature Center, Other Amenities Coming to Lost Lake

The renovation project will move forward, the Oakland Township Planning Commission decided unanimously Tuesday. Commissioner Roger Shultze was absent for the vote.

Mindy Milos-Dale, parks and trails planner for Oakland Township, presented the project along with Pamela Blough, the landscape architect assigned to the project. Due to the nature of the project, which includes development of a nature center, the decision to approve it was put on the shoulders of the Planning Commission, as opposed to the Board of Trustees.

“We want to offer an indoor component to our (township’s) nature education. This is a high priority in our parks and recreation plan,” Milos-Dale said.

Adding amenities to Lost Lake Nature Park

The nature center is planned for the lower level of the current building on the property where the caretaker resides. According to Milos-Dale, the caretaker will still live on the two floors above the project, but the lower level will be designated for the nature center.

Along with the 500-square-feet nature center, the current parking lot will be expanded, walkways created and picnic tables will be set up. A dock for fishing, nonmotorized boats and nature observation will be created and storm water buffers and signage will be set up. The dock will provide an accessible kayak launch as well.

“It’s the best park to have a nature center at because there’s the most to interpret there,” Milos-Dale noted.

Members of the commission agreed the renovations would be an enhancement to the community.

Commission Chairman James Carter, who was also in favor of the project, asked Milos-Dale if traffic to the park was expected to increase with the proposed changes. Milos-Dale said she expects daytime traffic to increase due to use by area schools for field trips. Though entrance fees cannot be charged because of guidelines in the grant, it is possible for neighboring schools to contribute to program fees, she said.

The project is possible due to the $154,900 grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund that Milos-Dale applied for and the township received. According to Milos-Dale 60 percent of the restoration project will be paid for by the grant, while the balance of the funds needed will be allocated out of the township’s park funds. Renovating the park will begin in the spring or summer according to Milos-Dale.

“It’s quite a unique place and maybe a place where a youngster could learn the most,” said Vice-Chairperson James Foulkrod of Lost Lake Nature Park.

Prior to applying for the grant, in 2009 the Parks and Recreation Department sent out a survey to residents asking for input on what is needed in the park system. Residents responded that there was a need for the nature center.

“This will be the township’s first and only interior space dedicated to nature center use,” Milos-Dale said. “It will be the first township park to provide nonmotorized boating opportunities and the second to provide a dock for fishing and nature observation.”