Eagle scout candidate honors great-grandfather with mile markers

Sat, May 30, 2009

FERRYSBURG — When the city of Ferrysburg purchased the property off West Spring Lake Road known as Valley City Court, Ryan Richert thought helping develop the site his great-grandfather used to own into a park would make the perfect Eagle Scout project.

Click to enlarge
"I wanted a project associated with that park," said Richert, whose great-grandfather was Ora Richert Sr.

But city officials thought that might be a little bigger task than the scout might want to handle and asked the 16-year-old Spring Lake boy if he would consider putting up mile markers along the bike path instead, Richert said.

That began a two-phase project Richert said he expects will be completed by the end of the summer.

The first phase includes marking two different stretches of bicycle paths, within the city limits, starting at William Ferry Park.

Richert, a home-schooled student and member of Fruitport Boy Scout Troop 1023, said he is marking each quarter-mile out to one and three-quarters to the city limits on West Spring Lake Road, and out 1.5 miles along Old Grand Haven Road (174th Avenue) to the VanWagoner Road intersection.

The mile markers were being placed this week.

The second phase of the project is making park interpretive signs for the small road-end parks along Lakeview Street and overlooking Spring Lake northeast of the Smith's Bayou bridge.

Click to enlarge
The city has plans to put cement pads and benches at the end of Gruenbauer and Reenders avenues, and a cement pad with a bench and picnic table at the end of Doric Avenue. All three streets come off West Spring Lake Road.

Richert said a sign will be placed at each of the three points. One sign will highlight the natural history of Spring Lake. Another will highlight migrating birds and the third sign will feature the regularly viewed birds in the area.

The teen said he was currently working with a graphic designer and hopes to have the 3-by-2-foot signs done by the end of the summer.

Ferrysburg City Manager Craig Bessinger said Richert contacted the city last year and offered his services. The city tried to tie the project in with a grant request for the area parks, but Bessinger said the city did not receive the grant. Instead, the park projects will be done in phases.

There is no cost to the city for the mile markers, Bessinger said. Richert was able to secure donations of materials and the members of his scout troop made the posts.

The city did agree to pay the cost of materials for the interpretive signs, which will be about $450 to $500 each, Bessinger said.

Richert has been in the same troop since second grade and under the leadership of Mike Retzlaff for the last four years.

"It has been fun watching these boys grow up," Retzlaff said. "I've watched Ryan go from being a very shy boy to the point of taking charge of a project like this. It really develops character."

Retzlaff said Richert has to complete 21 merit badges and his project to become an Eagle Scout, the Boy Scouts' highest rank.

An Eagle Scout project has to be put together by the scout. It has to benefit the community, and the scout has to manage the entire project from start to finish, without doing the manual work, Retzlaff said.

Richert is the son of Rob and Donna Richert of Spring Lake.