Cheney Griffin Park is a target for improvements following the Bainbridge City Council retreat last weekend.

Being a known flood area, ideas for Cheney Griffin Park need to be ideas that can withstand flooding over time, and if they were to be damaged they need to be easily repairable. Assistant City Manager Roy Oliver pitched a few ideas to the city council that he believes could be the renovations they are looking for.

First and foremost, Oliver wants to put a dog park in the corner of Cheney Griffin Park by the railroad trestle. Second, he wants to revamp the old boat ramp and create a fishing dock as well as a kayak launch in that location.

“Over the last two budget retreats we’ve talked about the renovations at Cheney Griffin Park and what may be next down there,” said Oliver. “The question is what do we do with all that extra green space down there and one of the things that came up is the need for a dog park.

“That area floods a lot, so you don’t want to put anything there that could be damaged by a flood,” added Oliver. “You could put a chain-link fence up, and if it floods it’s not going to do any great damage.”

While still only in the idea phase, City Council now can decide which idea they would like to move forward with.

There has already been an effort to clean up Cheney Griffin Park. According the Oliver, the city went in and tore out asphalt that had been damaged by flooding and then put up barriers to keep the soil in place while grass took root to create more green area in the park.

For the fishing dock and kayak launch, the city would have to go through the Army Corps of Engineers since it would be on the Flint River.

“We’ve got to get with the Corps of Engineers and get their requirements for that,” said Oliver. “The Corps of Engineers have always worked very well with us.”

According to Oliver, the city currently has no plans for the turn-around road that continues along the bank of the river.

After presenting the ideas, the next step for Oliver and his crews would be to create a more detailed plan for the park to present a final plan for City Council to look at. Then the council would begin to consider the project and start to budget for it, but according to Oliver the next steps would come later in the year.