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Traverse City considers expansion of Brown Bridge Quiet Area

The proposed expansion of Brown Bridge Quiet Area would add acreage from two different owners.
Traverse City
The proposed expansion of Brown Bridge Quiet Area would add acreage from two different owners.

Traverse City is considering a purchase that would increase the size of the Brown Bridge Quiet Area — land it has owned since the early 1900s.

The recreational area, which is southeast of the city itself, encompasses about 1,300 acres.

“It’s meant to be a quiet area, it’s meant to be out there so you can relax, reflect, and enjoy mother nature,” city manager Martin Colburn told IPR.

This purchase would buy 528 acres — 228 of which come from the estate of Elmer J. Mueller. An adjacent 300 acres were part of the now-closed GO-REC outdoor recreation center, owned and operated by Rotary Camps and Services.

Rotary is selling the land at about half its market value, said Matt McDonough, executive director of Rotary Camps and Services.

“The whole general public will be able to benefit from it,” he said. “So we don’t mind doing that at all.”

Much of the land includes oil wells — some of which are long-since closed. But two remain active, and McDonough says Rotary will retain mineral rights.

He says there are also wells in the existing Brown Bridge Quiet Area, and that trails are placed far enough away from them that most recreational users won’t encounter them.

To make the purchase, Traverse City plans to apply for a $2.3 million grant from the state, which would cover about three-quarters of the cost. The rest, another $748,626, would come from a city trust fund.

Releasing that trust fund money would require a public vote in November.

But right now, the city is in the listening phase. A public hearing on the proposed land acquisition is scheduled for March 20. Applications for the grant are due in early April.


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Ed Ronco is IPR's news director.