News Photo by Steve Schulwitz Members of the Alpena Lions Club pose next to the McRae Park sign in Alpena on Dec.16. The club adopted the park and will work with the city to maintain and improve it.

ALPENA — Parks and beaches in Alpena hold a special place in people’s hearts and provide residents and visitors a place to recreate and make memories.

That is why keeping them properly maintained and making improvements to them is paramount, so future generations can enjoy them, local community members say.

Late last year, the Alpena Lions Club and a local family stepped forward and each adopted a park, which they will care for. Their goal is to keep the parks clean, maintained, and safe.

The Lions Club worked with the city to adopt McRae Park and the club intends to spruce up the park – which is the most spacious on Alpena’s north side – and make it more user friendly for people.

Lions Club spokesperson Steve Murch said the club was working with City Manager Rachel Smolinski about possible projects when Smolinski suggested the group adopt a local park. More club members were brought into the loop, and soon the club signed on and adopted McRae.

“Our motto is ‘We Serve’ and this helps us to do just that,” Murch said. “One of our other missions is to conserve and protect the environment and what better way is there to serve the community and environment than keeping the park clean and enjoyable for families?”

Initially, the club intends to clean up litter and complete simple landscaping projects, and small maintenance projects. Larger projects, or repairs will be reported to the city staff, who will address them.

“The biggest thing is we’ll have somebody here on a regular basis to keep an eye on the park and we can let the city know if things are falling into disrepair and together find a way to stay on top of things,” Murch said.

For decades, McRae Park was heavily used and the home of many baseball and softball games, as well as pick-up basketball games. The park isn’t used as often for those activities, but the club hopes with a little tender loving care, the park’s use increases.

Murch said McRae is important to residents, especially those who live on that side of Alpena and are further away from the parks along State Avenue.

“McRae can be, and really is now, a jewel because for many families, it is really the only place for kids to play,” he said. “On the north side, the houses are very close together and there aren’t many large backyards for kids to play in, so having good parks for them is important. To be able to help provide them a safe place to play is great.”

Jerry and Paula Christensen spent several years utilizing Blair Street Park after they moved to Alpena and purchased a home on Blair Street, a stone’s throw away from the park in 2013. They said over the years, the park has become very special to their family and they’ve done work around the park, such as raking and picking up trash.

Last year they decided to officially adopt the park through the city’s adopt-a-park program.

“We became attached to the park and walk to it almost daily, especially in the summer,” Jerry said. “We basically adopted the park as our own years ago. The park was one of the reasons we purchased our home, and we love it because it’s usually not crowded, it’s close to home, and it’s comfortable with a great view.”

Last year the family planted perennial flowers, which will grow back this spring, Paula said. The couple said they intend to approach city officials about placing some benches at the park too.

The Alpena Adopt-a-Park program allows volunteers to care for the city-owned parks and there are many parks still available for adoption, Assistant Engineer Shannon Smolinski said having clubs, organizations, and residents volunteer helps the city because its department of public works doesn’t have as many employees as in years ago.

She said people interested in adopting a park can contact city hall and also fill out an application on the city’s website.

Smolinski said people don’t have to adopt the entire park, but can just care for portions of it, if they choose.

“People can adopt a flower bed and just do a little bit of landscaping when they stop by,” she said. “Even if they just pull weeds, it really helps with the city’s beautification.”