View the PDF version Google Docs PDF Viewer
Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee
Wednesday, October 16th, 2025 at 5:30 pm
City of Muskegon, City Hall - Room 204
MINUTES
Present: Aaron Bodbyl-Mast, Roberta King, Evelyn Hough, David Ruck, Sidney Long, Hillery Ross,
Lynnette Marks, Mayor Johnson
Absent: Leann Heywood, Sarah De La Rosa, Yancy Weaver
I. Meeting called to order at 5:38 pm.
II. Action Items
A. Approval of 8/21/24 & 9/25/24 Minutes
1. Motion by Marks, second by Ross to approve minutes from August &
September with name spelling & absence corrections from both months.
Unanimously approved.
a) August - John Burt was an excused absence, Lynnette Marks was
spelled incorrectly
b) September - Roberta King was an excused absence,
c) Sidney Long was spelled incorrectly
Motion Passes
B. PRAC Bylaws
1. Motion by King, second by Burt to approve the second draft of the Parks
& Recreation Committee Bylaws
Roll Vote: Ayes: King, Burt, Hough, Bodbyl-Mast, Ruck, Long, Ross, Marks
Nayes: None
Motion Passes
C. Park Rules - second draft
1. Ruck questions why we don’t allow camping in parks and compares the
rule to other municipalities. Director Karczewski mentions that we don’t
have any enforcement or park rangers, and Mayor Johnson explains that
there is currently only overnight camping allowed in parks with city
commission approval.
2. The board wishes to add a rule stating fireworks are prohibited in the
parks and mentions that they’d like to keep the “follow event rules” as
the final rule in the list.
3. Mayor Johnson suggests amended the trails rule to say established vs
marked
4. Multiple board members suggested amending the rule surrounding
“respecting wildlife” to add respecting the park areas, habitats and
environment in addition to the just animals.
5. Motion by Marks, second by Bodbyl-Mast to approve the Park Rules with
the mentioned amendments.
Roll Vote: Ayes: King, Burt, Hough, Bodbyl-Mast, Ruck, Long, Ross, Marks
Nayes: None
Motion Passes
III. Discussion Items
A. Hartshorn Marina Policies - Staff will seek guidance on public access ahead of
drafting new rules and policies at Hartshorn Marina.
1. Director Karczewski brings up that public access needs more clarity at
Hartshorn Marina and there are several large gatherings after hours that
have concerned staff.
a) It is more of a “marina policy” than a “parks policy” as reiterated
by Karczewski and Mayor Johnson
b) Bodbyl-Mast compared the marina to Hoffmaster in which the
public can only access when they walk in, but they can’t drive in.
We could mimic that with a locked gate after hours, it could be
public access during business hours and guest access only after
hours.
c) Ruck wanted to clarify that we were looking for general marina
policies, expanding that when there are conflicts leading to slip
owner removal, these incidents need to be documented.
d) Marks mentions that it is fairly standard that marinas have a
normal set of rules stating no swimming, fishing, wake, or
establishing specific parking areas for members compared to
guests. Alcohol expectations could be listed in these as well and
the rules could be posted on a sign.
e) Karczewski’s summary of topics for his draft: operating hours
when we are open to the public, expand on the fishing topic later,
& staffing
B. Beach Safety Master Planning - Staff will seek insight on the specific scope of
Beach Safety Master Planning.
1. Aquatic Safety Research Group - Karczewski met with them about what
services they offer
a) King & Marks request that the board gets sent the link to the
ASRG’s website
2. The liaison from the organization said they would be interested in first
doing an audit and on site evaluation with the board included
3. Karczewski is looking for what the board wants to do moving forward and
what the scope of our plan is moving forward
4. Marks asks if the auditing group works with a separate group to provide
the resources for the work recommended
a) He is an independent, neutral party per Karczewski and wouldn’t
be directly having us work with anyone in particular for the
suggested improvements.
5. Karczewski is questioning what property itself is included - does it
included all property that is touching a lake or just beach
a) Harbour Towne Beach, Pere Marquette+Lake Michigan, Kruse
6. To be clear - we (the board) are asking them for an on-site audit where
they come here in person
IV. Public Comment - none
V. Adjournment
A. Motion by Marks, second by Ruck to adjourn; approved unanimously
Motion Passes
Meeting adjourned at 7:20 PM
Sign up for City of Muskegon Emails