ESCANABA — A decision on whether or not to approve the creation of a nature walk trail in Ludington Park was postponed Thursday following a lengthy debate between the council and Council Member Karen Moore, who left her council seat to advocate for the project as the president of the non-profit Enhance Escanaba.

“I can guarantee you that this is only going to enhance our park,” said Moore, who repeatedly told the council members to “look at the big picture” while promoting the the path.

According to Moore, the trail would begin at the southern-most part of the harbor, travel along the lakeshore, jump the road by the bridge to Aronson Island, and continue along the shoreline to the parking lot by the bandshell. It would then pick up again on the other side of the parking lot and travel up the hill to the end of the park.

The trail itself would not be paved, but would instead be composed of what Moore described as three inches of “compressed trail mix” over a concrete base. Along the path would be flowers and trees, with small planted areas identified by large bolders marked by QR codes linking to information about the plant species and history of the park. Picnic tables would also be placed near the path and the beach volleyball pit would be planted over to create more greenspace.

Enhance Escanaba was awarded a grant for the project that would provide a total of $25,000 for the path from America in Bloom, a beautification organization with ties to Canadian National Railroad that supports projects in cities with CN railroads passing through them. However, the grant required a $10,000 match from the city for the project.

Moore was repeatedly asked if the grant could be applied to maintaining the existing asphalt walking path that travels through the park. She indicated it could not because it would “change the whole purpose” of the project, which she said was to bring people closer to the water, and that she was already working with America in Bloom on the project.

“I need to look at the big picture of reality too, and right now we have a walking path. So to put something new does not make sense until we maintain what we currently have,” said Council Member Tyler DuBord.

It was noted Thursday that the existing path was falling into disrepair and sections would need to be replaced in the next few years.

Beyond the maintenance of the existing path, the council and Department of Public Works Superintendent Kent DuBord expressed concerns about the maintenance of the proposed path. Specifically, concerns were raised that the city did not have the appropriate tractor to turn the nature path’s surface material over as needed, had no real way to remove goose feces from the walkway, and there were concerns about adding to the cost of DPW watering plants in the city — which is already about the $10,000 per year for the flowers downtown.

It was also noted that this coming summer will be especially difficult for the department of public works with the upcoming streetscaping project on Ludington Street and ongoing lead service line replacements.

Moore argued the path would not need a significant amount of maintenance, specifically because of the types of plants she had chosen and the way the path would be designed to be mowed around. She also pointed to the agreement before the council that said Enhance Escanaba would assist the city in ongoing maintenance of the nature walk.

Mayor Mark Ammel noted that there was no finalized plan for the project before the council and that the agreement said the city’s recreation board would approve the final design of the nature walk.

While Moore had declared a conflict of interest early in the meeting and did not vote on whether or not to move forward with the plan and approve the agreement with Enhance Escanaba, she did reference her status as a council member while asking if the plan would be approved in the future.

“I guess, being a council member, can I ask if there would be an affirmative vote contingent on the rec board approving my plan?”

Ammel repeatedly shut down the question, even when it was rephrased.

“If you’re asking for a predetermined outcome for a future council meeting, the answer is no. … I cannot give you a predetermined outcome for a future agenda item,” he said.

At one point in the meeting Moore argued that the council’s approval was not needed for the project, as a nonmotorized pathway for the park was included in the city’s five year recreation plan.

“What I was telling you though was that it was in the recreation plan, and technically, if something is in the five-year plan it doesn’t have to go to council because the council has already approved the five year plan. So that’s the only reason that we decided to go with this,” she said, explaining why the path was discussed as presented when applying for the grant.

Regardless of whether or not a project needs council approval, entering into an agreement or committing matching funds does. Ultimately, the council decided to postpone a decision until the May 1 meeting, allowing for the recreation board to develop a firm plan for the project.

In other business the council:

— Approved contracting with Stenberg Brothers, Inc. of Bark River for sanitation services for the recreation department this summer.

— Approved hiring Sticky Fingers of Gladstone as the city’s official concessionaire in Ludington Park for the summer season. This will be Sticky Finger’s 22nd season providing concessions to parkgoers.

Shortly after the meeting came to a close and the streaming cameras were turned off it, the council members were reminded that the city’s budget sessions begin next week. These open-to-the-public meetings run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday.