Fife Lake DDA

DDA Projects

In 1993, the Village of Fife Lake established a DDA…

A man wearing sunglasses and a blue jacket holding a shovel, standing in front of the Five Lake Area Historical Museum. There is a small, leafless tree planted in a burlap-wrapped root ball nearby.

1996 Grant for Street Trees

Plaque honoring DDA members who worked on sidewalks and streetscape, listing names including Cal Benke, Betty Heidi, Harry Voice, Tom Chatier, Jerry Jenkins, Betty Tornow, Linda Forwerck, Madeleine Bechtel, and Patricia Kiptmueller, year 2000 project.
Three men planting young trees along a sidewalk on a residential street.

Cal, Scott, and Tom

Two workers in orange shirts and tan pants assembling a wooden park bench on a grassy area near the sidewalk, with trees in the background.
An outdoor disc golf basket on a patch of dirt with grass, trees, and a partly cloudy sky in the background.

Disc Golf Course

Colorful directional signs pointing to various local businesses and attractions, including a veterinary clinic, museum, liquor store, lodge, and more, set against a clear blue sky with some clouds.

Wayfinding Signs

Street Bench Project

Street Lamp Project

In September of 1999, we received a grant in the amount of $413,000, with a local 20% match of $103,400. The DDA bonded, with the full faith and credit of the Village Council, the amount of $200,000 to cover project costs. This major project began to replace and extend our sidewalks in the DDA district. This included curbs and gutters, retaining walls, plus street trees. This bond was paid with an early payoff in October of 2016 (four years early).

 

A grant was written to the State of Michigan, also through ISTEA funding, for street lamps along State Street. We received this grant in the amount of $169,000 with a local match of $72,000. We were able to sell streetlamps acknowledging local contributors by placing plaques on the base of the streetlamp in the amount of $49,000 plus $30,000 in DDA funds, thereby financing this project with no bonding. Banners and holiday decorations have been placed on streetlamps.

 

In 2014, the Village of Fife Lake received grant monies to rebuild Pierce Street. At the same time, a sidewalk segment was built connecting State Street to 6th Street. The DDA was a financial contributor to this project connecting to South Town.

 

In the fall of 2020, a sidewalk segment was built from the intersection of State and Pierce Streets west to U.S. 131, connecting to the recently completed State of Michigan Roundabout. This project was completed at a cost of $100,000. The project was paid in full with monies collected through TIF by the DDA.

 

Additional projects:

 

  1. The DDA placed a dock in Lakeside Park to allow boaters a place to tie up their boats while visiting local business establishments.

  2.  Wayfinding signs were placed strategically in the DDA District.