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City of Muskegon Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee
Wednesday, September 17th, 2025 @ 5:30 PM
City Hall Conference Room 204
Minutes
Present: John Burt, Yancy Weaver, Sidney Long, Roberta King, Lynnette Marks, Leann
Heywood, David Ruck, Aaron Bodbyl-Mast, Mayor Johnson
Absent: Sarah De La Rosa, Hillery Ross
1. Call to Order
a. Meeting called to order at 5:31 pm by Roberta King.
2. Approval of July 16th Minutes
a. Motion to approve by Lynette Marks, seconded by John Burt.
Unanimously approved.
3. Update: General Parks & Recreation Information
a. Director Karczewski gives the committee updates on the new installation of the
Kruse Park playgrounds.
b. BIDs due soon for Hartshorn Marina Restroom and Harbormaster building and
Sheldon Park Restrooms.
c. McCormick was awarded the contract for parking lot rehabs.
d. Re-engaging with DLZ for Pere Marquette improvements for the boardwalk and
parking area between the Kite Shack building and the main Bathhouse.
i. Bodbyl-Mast adds that the sidewalk is too narrow as is and improvements
will open access as an argument to why we are updating.
ii. Heywood adds we need to anticipate inquires on why we are not
widening the other sections of the beach that are more crowded.
e. Fleis and Vandbrink has been awarded the contract for McGraft Park, Kruse,
Hartshorn, and Richards.
i. King asks about the possibility of putting a pit toilet in at Richards.
Karczewski says that we will put one in eventually.
4. Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
a. Director Karczewski goes over the Halloween Trunk or Treat event. He goes over
volunteer opportunities and how the committee can assist.
b. Mayor Johnson asks if Glow will still be continuing with the folding of Lakeshore
Legacy Project. Director Karczewski adds that the continuation of the Glow event
is being looked into by other City staff.
c. Bodbyl-Mast mentions reaching out to Grand Rapids to see how they manage
their event.
5. Park Ranger Program Review
a. Park Ranger Program was reviewed by Director Karczewski. There was good
coordination with PD and the ranger. He add it is hard to reach all the parks in
one day, with the ranger usually reaching12-15 parks a day.
b. The committee is concerned about the number of parks the ranger had to go to in
a day and what he did at the parks. Karczewski elaborates he spends more time
at certain parks on certain days. He logs his daily activities and engagements.
c. Marks asks how we can make it clearer that dogs at the beach are unacceptable.
Karczewski elaborates that most of the people the ranger encounters with
unleashed dogs are out of town visitors.
d. Heywood asks if we are documenting the positive feedback about the ranger
because it will be helpful when asking for funds in the future to support park
rangers.
e. King says she would love to do a ride along next summer if available so they can
see his day and interactions with the public.
f. Mayor Johnson mentions that we were going to review the ability to write
citations and if Director Karczewski would have a conversation with Chief Kozal.
Director Karczewski says the park ranger was glad he didn’t have the ability to
write citations because he felt it would escalate some situations.
g. Karczewski says the body cams were suggested by PD for the Park Ranger.
Marks says it may make the ranger feel safer. Director Karczewski says it would
help with safety and would also keep the ranger accountable.
h. Most of complaints the ranger dealt with were loud music, dogs on beach,
marijuana smoking, and not parking in parking spots.
6. Fisherman’s Landing Update
a. Mayor Johnson says it came to the work session last Monday and the written
proposal was presented by the City Manager. The commission consensus was to
move it forward at the last Tuesday meeting.
b. Mayor Johnson goes over the details of the current Fisherman’s Landing
proposal. The committee has an open discussion with questions about the
possibilities and details of the land swap.
7. Ribbon Cutting at Kruse Park
a. Director Karczewski asks the committee if they are interested in attending a
ribbon cutting on Oct 15. The committee agrees to Oct 15 at 4 PM. There will
also have concepts for future upcoming parks projects available to view for
attendees.
8. Update on MAPGC
a. Update on hold until a later time.
9. Public Comment
a. No public comment
Motion to adjourn by Marks, seconded by Heywood.
Meeting adjourned at 7:16 PM.
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