The Park Behind Ida's Township Hall Is Being Rebuilt Around Its Own Calendar

"The park equipment delivery is still delayed."

That line sits in the clerk's report of the Ida Township Board's October 6, 2026 meeting. It appears between a note about absentee ballots and a discussion of pension contributions. It gives no new date. A month earlier, the September 1 minutes said the equipment was "now expected in October."

So the new playground at the park behind the township hall at 3016 Lewis Ave. is late. Ida's yearly events at that park have not moved, though. The township is rebuilding in phases. It has approved one quote, sent out several grant applications and lined up a fundraising partnership, all while the park's existing calendar of events carries on.

Three Names for the Same Patch of Ground

The park goes by a few names. The township's parks page calls it Ida Fireman's Park. It sits behind the Ida Township Municipal/Library Building, is open sunrise to dusk, and has a children's playground, a one-third-mile paved walking loop, and a pavilion available first come, first served. The Ida Community Day page writes it as Ida Firemen's Park. The Christmas in Ida organizers call it Ida Township Park.

Whatever you call it, it's where the town gathers. On Ida Community Day, May 16, 2026, the Ida Civic Club set up its Trash, Treasure and Trinket Village along the park's walking path. That event raises money for the Ida Civic Club/Christmas in Ida Scholarship Fund. The same day, the Friends of the Ida Library held the Pat Hammond book sale inside the Ida Township Community Room, and the Ida Firemen hosted their annual Chicken Broil. New for 2026 was a Community Day softball tournament on the diamonds behind the park, plus live music from Celestial Blues starting at noon.

Every one of those events took place on or next to the ground the township is now rebuilding.

What $116,658.23 Buys, and Why It Took Until June

The township first asked the public about the park on November 5, 2025, at a public hearing on the Park Improvement Project. The parks page still links a Firemen's Park Design Survey and asks residents to send ideas to Township Clerk Tera Shaffer. Since then, the work has shown up in the board minutes, a few lines at a time.

The May entry explains the slow pace. A playground layout that worked by itself didn't work for the whole park, because it took the space where pickleball courts are supposed to go. The township waited for another option instead of building into the space meant for the next phase. The Game Time quote it approved in June is described as Phase 1, covering repair, updates and expansion of the existing playground.

The playground isn't the only thing being planned. Trees had to come down first, the entrance has been on the agenda since spring, and the pickleball space was a factor in which playground quote the board waited for.

Phase 2 Is a Fundraising Project Before It's a Construction Project

The June 2 minutes describe Phase 2 in one sentence: "Phase two will consist of pickleball courts and a new music section." The same meeting recorded that members of the park improvement fund agreed to partner with the Monroe County Community Foundation to raise money for it. The entrance may now be part of that phase too, based on the August discussion.

Here's how the money looks as of the October 6 minutes:

• T-Mobile grant: The township applied in March and was told no. The June minutes record that the grant was not received.
• Lowe's grant: The township applied for help improving the existing baseball fields, according to the April minutes. No result has been recorded in the minutes since.
• Consumers Energy grant: On September 1, the clerk reported applying for $20,000 toward the next phase of the park. The October minutes record no result.
• Community Foundation match: A $50,000 matching fundraising opportunity for the playground was recorded in April. The minutes don't give a running total or a deadline.

So far, the only spending the minutes show for the playground is the approved $116,658.23 Game Time quote. One grant was turned down, two applications are still waiting on answers, and the Community Foundation offer is a match on money the community raises. Each request aims at one piece of the park. The Lowe's application targeted the ball diamonds, the Consumers Energy application targets the next phase, and the Community Foundation offer was tied to the playground. The $20,000 Consumers Energy request is about a sixth of the cost of the Phase 1 playground alone. All of this is moving through the same board that handles everything else in the township. The October 6 meeting that noted the equipment delay also approved up to $8,000 in repairs to Engine 3 and $22,414.50 in turnout gear for the fire department.

Christmas in Ida Opens at the Park on Dec. 4

Whenever the Game Time equipment shows up, the park's biggest night of the year is already set. Christmas in Ida runs Thursday, Dec. 3 through Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026. The Ida Civic Club started the festival in 1982. GoToMonroe lists festival hours as 6 to 9 p.m., with craft and vendor shows, Santa's Zoo, concerts and fireworks.

The festival opens at the park. Here's the order of things on the two main days:

1. Friday, Dec. 4, 5:15 p.m.: The Ida Community Christmas Tree Lighting at Ida Township Park. Organizers light the park's 40-foot Blue Spruce, and families, businesses, clubs and school groups hang handmade ornaments six to ten inches across, each with the maker's name on it. There will be hot chocolate, cookies, live acoustic holiday music and a barrel firepit, and you're welcome to bring a chair.
2. Friday, Dec. 4, 6:30 p.m.: A free outdoor showing of The Polar Express downtown on Lewis Avenue, with chairs, popcorn and refreshments available.
3. Saturday, Dec. 5, 7 p.m.: The Christmas in Ida Parade of Lights, presented by DTE Energy. Lineup starts at 3 p.m. at Ida Public School, and the route runs along Ida Street, Mill Street, Ida East Road and Lewis Avenue.

The festival homepage still shows a "Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025" line above the parade logo. The parade's own 2026 page says Dec. 5.

If you can't make the lighting, you can drop off ornaments at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, The Rusty Cup or the Ida Branch Library. Ornaments from earlier years stay on the tree with the new ones, so the spruce collects more names every December, rebuild or not.

Where the Next Update Will Come From

The building in front of the park stays busy this month. On Wednesday, Oct. 14, the Ida Branch library runs its Wednesday Play Lab Fall Session in the Community Room from 10 to 11 a.m., then Spellbound: A Role Playing Game for Young Wizards from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. Early voting at the township runs Oct. 24 through Nov. 1, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The next official word on the playground will most likely come in the clerk's report. The Ida Township calendar lists the next board meeting for Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, at 7 p.m. Every step of the park project so far, from the tree contract to the delivery delays, has been recorded in the clerk's reports and board actions. The township posts its minutes on its website, and the Consumers Energy grant result, a delivery date for the equipment and any Phase 2 plan from Mannik Smith would all show up there.

When the new equipment does go in, it will be part of a park the township has planned as a whole: courts kept clear, an entrance under review, and a music section on the list. Until then, the 40-foot spruce and the walking loop are ready for the first Friday in December.

I grew up in Ida, and the park behind the township hall is one of the places I keep an eye on as the work goes on. If you have questions about how projects like this one fit into the bigger picture for your property or your street, Jacob Levicki is glad to talk it through over coffee or by phone. Let's Connect.