In 2020, voters in Calhoun County approved a five-year countywide parks millage. PEA Group was awarded the contract to provide landscape architecture and civil engineering services for the county. Along with the millage funds, Calhoun County received an MNRTF Grant for improvements to Kimball Pines Park in Emmett, Michigan.
Kimball Pines has been under-utilized since 2011 when straight-line winds downed many trees, rendering the park unusable. Previously used as festival grounds, the park had several large, abandoned gravel parking lots and lacked a formal entrance drive. Access was only available through the rear parking lot of an adjacent medical facility, making it difficult to find. The new plans for the park included removing the existing parking lots and replacing them with native prairie plantings, developing a new entrance drive from Michigan Avenue, creating two new parking areas, renovating restrooms, adding a new section of pathway to create a ¾ mile loop within the park, and restoring the native landscape for the approximately 45-acre northern half of the property.
The new design dramatically improved both the functionality and aesthetics of the park. The Iron Belle Trail, North Country Trail, and Great Lake to Lake Trail run through the park, serving as a rest stop for cyclists and pedestrians. The new access road, parking areas, and improved restrooms make this park an ideal trailhead for these regional trails.