Request for Proposal Issued for Design, Engineering & Implementation Plan for Onekama Parks & Access Sites

ONEKAMA, MI - Sunday, February 20, 2011 - A request for proposals (RFP) has been issued to develop designs, preliminary engineering and an implementation plan for the parks and other access sites in Onekama Township, including most of the Portage Lake Watershed and the Village of Onekama. Proposals must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Friday, March 18, 2011 to the Alliance for Economic Success. A complete copy of the RFP is available at www.allianceforeconomicsuccess or by contacting Jami Schneider at 231-723-4325 or jami@allianceforeconomicsuccess.com.

An Onekama Community Access Grant Leadership Team has been formed to select a consultant, guide the project and promote input and participation from all interests. The project is funded under a $34,000 grant from the Michigan Coastal Management Program to the Alliance for Economic Success (AES) that applied for the funding at the request of the Portage Lake Watershed Council.

The project is part of the Explore the Shores program, a Manistee county-wide effort coordinated by the AES in partnership with the Manistee County Community Foundation to make the county a destination for people of all ages, needs and abilities to access, use and learn from the county’s treasured water resources.

The project will provide designs, preliminary engineering and a recommended implementation plan for access sites and parks that:

• Emphasizes universal design
• Responds to diverse recreational, educational and other interests
• Creates linkages among and between access sites in the watershed to create destinations and pathways among destinations
• Incorporates best practices world-wide in the design and engineering plans
• Incorporates the themes of the Explore the Shores program involving water stewardship, life cycles of fish species, "teach a person to fish," and the importance of universal accessibility

The implementation plan that will be prepared by the selected contractor in partnership with the Team and community is to include estimates costs, recommended funding sources and an approximate schedule for site development. This portion of the project has an expected completion date of October 2011.