Fundraiser to help observe 25th anniversary of boardwalk

Mon, Jan 12, 2009    to del.icio.us

Many area residents remember when you still had to walk along Harbor Drive to get from downtown to the beach.

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Now thousands of people enjoy Grand Haven's boardwalk each summer, but many have no idea how much community support it took to build it 25 years ago.

This spring, they'll get a reminder.

A group of community members led by Ken Formsma are planning a $100,000 fundraiser to repair the boardwalk and make sure it has a bright future.

"All I'm trying to do is finish what I started in 1984," said Formsma, who helped raise around $200,000 to turn a pile of boulders into the 1,154-foot-long Lighthouse Connector Park, the boardwalk's formal name. "The best legacy we can leave is to just say, 'Everything is in place.'"

Formsma hopes to have the money raised by Aug. 15, which is when Grand Haven plans to celebrate the boardwalk's 25th anniversary along with the city's 175th anniversary.

City Councilman Mike Fritz said he remembers when it was nearly impossible to walk along the riverfront because of large boulders along the beach. Now the boardwalk is a major draw to the area, he said.

"It's been 25 years, and it needs some work," Fritz said. "It's all starting to show some age."

The support of 2,400 local people helped prompt federal money to complete the $3.5 million project in 1985, Formsma said, although it was dedicated in 1984. He's hoping the community will embrace the boardwalk again this time around.

The first fundraiser happened at another difficult time for the area, Formsma said. AP Parts and Cooper Industry had both closed and many people were looking for work.

The current economic spiral hasn't spared the area either, with Shape Corp. and other companies laying of workers.

"People just said, 'I think we can do this,'" Formsma said. "I don't know how it will develop, but I just know from being in this community for 40 years that it's going to be OK."

Dave Foster is retiring from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in February. But before that happens, he wants to finish what he started when he helped build the Grand Haven boardwalk. Foster said the boardwalk was built over rocks, which had many cracks between them from water erosion. Because of those cracks, the boardwalk is slowly settling.

Officials are currently working out how to best fix the boardwalk, but one thing's for sure — it won't be cheap to do the project right, Foster said.

"We're working for a long-term fix — not just for a couple of years," he said. "We want to make sure the public can enjoy it as much as they have in the last 25 years."

City Manager Pat McGinnis said the municipality has $300,000 set aside for waterfront improvements, but the city's commitment is also contingent on community support.

"It's our dime, so we're looking to other folks to buy into the project," McGinnis said.

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Formsma was a member of the city's Parks and Recreation Board when he helped fundraise in the 1980s, so he wanted to make sure the current board members were on board with the project.

Bruce Baker, a current member of the Parks and Recreation Board, said he is fully supportive of the project because the goal is to help improve a city park.

In the 1980s, all sorts of people with all kinds of fundraisers helped raise money for the project, Formsma said. They held a variety show, Pepsi versus Coke competition, walk-a-thon, dance-a-thon and almost any other kind of "-a-thon" you can think of, he explained.

Supporters also gave away pieces of boardwalk to people who donated $25 or more to the project.

This year, Formsma said they'll give away rulers — one for each foot of park along the water.

Formsma said some of the money raised will likely go into a long-term maintenance fund through the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation.

"I don't care who gets the credit," he said. "We've just got to get this done."