Almost 13 months after winning $25,000 from the Consumer’s Energy “Put Your Town on the Map” contest, the Big Rapids skate park project is reportedly getting closer to being built.

According to City Manager Mark Gifford, the development is currently in the last stages of securing funds to begin construction.

“We're in the final piece of the puzzle of putting the funding together,” Gifford said. “We applied to the DNR passport program a few months ago, so we should find out whether or not we get that right around August or September.”

The skate park is slated to be placed at Swede Hill Park near the Muskegon River, in which American Ramp Company is slated to construct the facility. After multiple surveys and community meet ups last year, the city is continuing to push this project towards completion.

“We are committed to (the) project and finding a way to get that built,” Gifford said. “We're excited about that but we are just putting all the funding together.”

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