MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - The Land Preservation Advisory Board has received verbal confirmation that a grant, applied for in October of 2013, has been approved.

The grant would be used to cover a portion of the cost in acquiring a property on Green Road for permanent preservation. The property was chosen because it appeared to be qualified for a Michigan Department of Natural Resources trust fund grant, and the Advisory Board felt that the property was relatively inexpensive.

Meridian Township Treasurer Julie Brixie explains how the next step in the process of land acquisition can begin. "The State requires, before they purchase any properties, that an appraisal is done so that they know that they're putting State Dollars towards something that is valued appropriately. We'll go through the requirements of the State's Appraisal Office, and then after we have the State approved appraisal we begin our negotiation with the property owner. It's kind of a long process and we've been fortunate in meridian township that we have had some willing property owners that are willing to wait for this process to work its way through."

The Green Road property will be acquired through the use of a trust fund grant similarly to how the township acquired Lake Lansing Trails.