Good news about the Belle Isle Aquarium...

[esteban]

On the Belle Isle Aquarium FaceBook page, this just posted:
"...The City of Detroit, Detroit Rec Department & Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium have now been awarded a State Historic Preservation Grant for $45,000!!! Friends of Belle Isle Aquarium will provide the matching funds so that finally repairs to the roof can begin! Thanks to all our friends [[4,115 and counting) for your continued support, tenacity, and refusal to let the Belle Isle Aquarium be forgotten. Watch for scaffolding at the Aquarium!!!..."

[DetroitZack]

You beat me to it. I just read about this on the Detroit News website. Great news! The aquarium is a beautiful little building.

http://www.detnews.com/article/20110...$45K-for-fixes

[Wingnatic]

I think there should be a small fee or a yearly pass to get on the island , and that may help defray the cost of upkeep and maybe even for improvements such as this . Would anyone object to a $1 fee to get on the island ? I know its city owned but................

[Lowell]

More great news. The struggle is to just hang on for many of our gems and that starts with at the top with the roof and works down from there.

The Belle Isle fee suggestion has resurfaced recently. I support a vehicle fee of at least $3 for powered vehicles with reduced fees for City of Detroit residents, annual stickers of around $50, and a mix of free days.

If we simply consider the bridge as a toll bridge it is not an unreasonable amount. Remember that once upon a time everybody had to wait and pay for a ferry ride. Such a move might qualify the CofD for increased revenue sharing under Snyder's guidelines.