A key Republican lawmaker in Lansing is blasting a plan to make Detroit’s Belle Isle a state park.
As The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Jake Neher reports, that means any more state spending on the park could have a tough time getting through the Legislature.
Senate Appropriations Chair Roger Kahn says the Michigan Department of Natural Resources budget is already spread thin. The state budget sets aside about two million dollars for Belle Isle this year. But Kahn says any serious restoration of the park will require about ten times that.
“The business plan to support this spend is, first of all, unavailable, and second of all, as reported in the newspapers, pretty dubious,” he says.
Detroit’s city council and its two mayoral candidates oppose the state’s plan to lease Belle Isle and turn it into a state park. Kahn says the DNR’s resources should be spent on parks that have more support from local officials.