Michigan Municipal League: The Review Magazine Jan-Feb 2023 Edition

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER

“When we started the Imagine Cass project, we decided we were going to do our master plan for the community. At the same time, we partnered with the county, our local EDC (Economic Development Corporation), and Michigan State University Extension with their SBEI Program (Sustainable Built Environment Initiative). Michigan State focused on the downtown area while we focused on all the rest of the community,” LaGrow said. LaGrow, her team, and their partners wanted to take a comprehensive approach. Seeing the momentum and excitement from the Imagine Cass project inspired LaGrow and her team to continue adding improvements where they could. They knew they had things that absolutely had to be done, but they also wanted to make sure they were doing everything they could to help make their community a better place for everyone. “We hosted three major community forum events with food and live music. On the back end, we met with all our students (from the kindergarteners through the high schoolers), the local college, the businesses, and the homeowners’ associations,, asking ‘what do you need?’ and ‘how can we make your life better?’” LaGrow explained. A redesign of the downtown streetscape includes light poles emitting free WiFi, music, and digital signage, as well as wider sidewalks.

Stone Lake previously only had a boat launch that provided no public access to the lake. The new beach includes a 230-foot ADA pier with fishing areas, affordable recreational rentals, an outdoor amphitheater with concessions, and a lakeside boardwalk to connect public spaces. A new municipal complex was constructed to consolidate all village services into one location—administration, public works, and police—to create a more effective and efficient experience for residents. They also created the Southwest Michigan Advanced Research and Technology Park that is already bringing in more technology and industrial businesses to the area. “Because we had the momentum and we had the community watching us, we decided it was really ‘now or never.’ We decided to roll all the projects out at once. Once we started to build that steam and momentum, we were able to add even more than what was in the original project…it has been the best snowball effect ever,” LaGrow said. Through their efforts, they created a “new, vibrant, sustainable, rural, and exceptional community,” putting an end to the decline the village had experienced for decades. The community planning process and resulting community vision helped unify Cassopolis residents and supporters. The project’s cost-effectiveness, collaboration, and citizen-led change resonated throughout the community and solidified the principle that if you invest in yourself, others will invest in you.

22 THE REVIEW

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2023