Photo by Bill Schwab - www.billschwab.com
Belle Isle officiallys join the state park system on Monday, relieving cash-poor Detroit of $6 million in annual costs and raising hopes that the island park can regain the luster it lost during the city's long decline.
Nancy Derringer of Bridge Magazine surveys the remarkable transformation of the island, which the city of Detroit purchased in 1879.
Transferring Belle Isle to state control ignited passions on both sides of the debate. City Council members JoAnn Watson, now retired, and Brenda Jones, now the body's president, vehemently criticized the deal last year, with Watson comparing the leasing of Belle Isle to rape.
Derringer writes about the stakes involved in the deal:
A 30-year lease will make historic-but-rundown Belle Isle the responsibility of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to operate and improve. It is also an important test of whether the emergency management imposed by Gov. Rick Snyder in 2013 can follow through on its promise to help improve the lives of ordinary Detroiters, ensuring that all eyes will be on the park as snows melt and warm-weather recreation gets underway.
Sarah Earley, who chairs the Belle Isle Conservancy board, knows the stakes are high, but she says she’s not worried.
“The day after the lease was signed, the DNR was in the park,” she said, meeting with longtime volunteers, surveying the facilities and “hammering on trees.” Work began in December, with state workers getting started removing all or parts of more than 160 trees judged unsafe for the park’s picnic areas.
