GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY -- Two parks in Grand Traverse County are on the verge of expansion. The State House approved a Senate spending bill that designates 48.9 million dollars from the Natural Resources Trust Fund to be split up between 81 park projects in the state.

Acme Township will get 3 million dollars to help purchase 11.5 acres, including 2,000 feet of frontage on East Bay. The Township Supervisor says it's part of a multi-phase project to extend the shoreline.  Phase One would include buying three properties south of the existing Bayfont Park to add more beach frontage.

Wayne Kladder says Phase One alone could double the existing shoreline for public access in Acme Township. "We have about 10 miles of shoreline here in Acme Township and not a lot of access to that, so with this vision we're moving forward to create this park here, which is about a mile in length and we're gonna do it in different phases."

Kladder says the 3 million dollar grant falls just short of what's needed to complete phase one of the project. He says a citizens committee is still trying to raise just under $600,000 dollars to fund the rest of the effort. The township will have roughly one year to spend the grant money, and work could start in 16-18 months.

Another million dollars will go to the Traverse City State Park to buy nearly 29 acres of property adjacent to the park, to open up recreational use like boating and fishing.  Governor Granholm still has to sign the bill before it becomes official.