Veronica Valley and Kids Fishing Day Report
VV County Park:
Presented to Leelanau County Board of Commissioners
For June 16, 2026 Meeting
By Alan Campbell
• Access road rebuilt after being nearly completely washed out by high water. Lake Leelanau Excavating went above and beyond in building a much-needed road for access to the county maintenance building and, if needed, emergency vehicles.
• Water levels have stabilized at Kids Fishing Pond, and the drain plug was opened by maintenance personnel. The request remains for the County Road Commission to dig out ditches along County Road 641.
• Four out of a possible nine memorial park benches have been sold. We are hoping to have them installed by Kids Fishing Day to use for promotion and to sell more benches.
• Woody material (logs) placed in the pond is doing its job, creating habitat and promoting fish propagation while providing protection from predators.
• A 2% proposal to construct a pavilion at VV County Park was hand-delivered to a tribal council member and remains under consideration.
Kids Fishing Day:
• It’s from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 28. Fingers crossed for pleasant skies, warm but not hot temperatures, and wind direction behind bobbers tossed by kids.
• We always need volunteers, and Park Commission members are encouraged to show up before the event. We have vests provided by Cherryland Electric that help guests identify volunteers who can answer questions and help make the day enjoyable in other ways.
• Press releases went out yesterday, flyers are available at our meeting for distribution, and advertisements have been scheduled in the Leelanau Enterprise.
• Fundraising has been going ... amazingly well. Credit Debra Campbell, former co-publisher and advertising manager at the Enterprise. Among new financial supporters are Martinson Funeral Home, Locals of Lake Leelanau, Seeco Contracting, Lake Leelanau Excavating, Jon’s Barber Shop, Cedar Rod and Gun Club Educational Foundation, and Leo Skowronski (Nutrient Fertilizer).
Our big supporters (including Leelanau County, our biggest backer) have all come back, and some have increased their contributions. They include the GTB, Passing Along the Heritage (PATH), Cherryland, MDNR, Lake Leelanau Lake Association, and Lake Leelanau Community Foundation.
Clearly, there is a lot of support for Kids Fishing Day.
• We’ll have at least two track chairs available for volunteers, and hopefully a third available to visitors. We are working on that through PATH and Tails A Wagging Pheasant Preserve.
• As mentioned, we hope to promote the Memorial Bench program. If anyone wants to and is willing, the Parks and Recreation Commission could set up a booth to promote what we do. With a little digging, we could come up with plenty of material to display and distribute.
It would be a good time and place to discuss work on our accessible walkway.
Alan Campbell
Veronica Valley Subcommittee Chair
