In an effort to foster greater cooperative planning within the region, the Grand Traverse County Planning Commission convened a series of meetings with the Village of Fife Lake and Fife Lake Township Planning Commissions to discuss recent legislation an new opportunities for joint planning.

Through these meetings, the two planning commissions identified a list of options for coordinated policies, placing the highest priority on parks, recreation and pedestrian/recreational trails.

In April of 2009, public officials from the Village and Township submitted a proposal to the Partnerships for Change program and were awarded a First Steps service grant to help establish a collaborative environment between the two jurisdictions and develop a community-wide recreation plan.

In August, local leaders kicked off a five-month comprehensive planning process to develop a recreation plan unique to the Fife Lake Community, with an emphasis on non-motorized trails.

Update: The new Recreation Plan was formally adopted by the two jurisdictions in February and March of 2010. The plan was then submitted to and adopted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE), making the two jurisdictions eligible for state grant funding.