MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - The Meridian Township Park Commission has come up with 15 ways to improve Township Parks. Known as the Capital Improvement Program, the Commission would like to make all of the changes in the next five years.

"We need to seriously look at how we're going to fund our parks and make sure that we can maintain the parks we have and make improvements to the existing facilities," said Luann Maisner, Director of Parks and Recreation.

Playgrounds and facilities require routine maintenance.

"We are filling in impact material on the playground that's kind of been washed out by rain or just compacted by being played on," said a Meridian Township Parks maintenance worker.

The Park Commission will propose a larger millage to fund projects. Without the money, the Commission has no workers, and community improvements like new wood chips won't be available.

The additional chips make the local playgrounds safer. Over time, the wood chips get packed down. Adding more chips makes the layer thicker and softer, and the local kids who play on this playground showed me that this material can be quite dangerous.

"This one's exactly like a spear, right?" said a local boy who held a wood chip.

The Parks Commission has a financial hill to climb. Meridian Township's voters will decide if parks are worth the investment in 2014.