Courtesy Photo From left to right, Brynn Beatty, Paige Kaminski, and Carter Schroeder present their Movie Under the Stars to the Alpena Municipal Council on Monday.

ALPENA — A mock movie theater at Bay View Park, a bike obstacle course at Duck Park, and workout equipment at Bay View Park were a few of the ideas several students from Thunder Bay Junior High School pitched to the Alpena Municipal Council on Monday.

Other projects shared by students in the Project Based Learning class include docks at Duck Park and a park for Birdsong Bay.

Promoted by Brynn Beatty, Paige Kaminski, and Carter Schroeder, the Movies Under the Stars project would likely be a hit for families if it became a reality. The project would feature a large mobile movie screen at the bandshell at Bay View Park and include room for food trucks that could provide the necessary snacks and drinks associated with a night out at the movies.

At Duck Park, a bike obstacle course was pitched by Gemma Ritthaler, Addy Kolson, and Audrey Saranen. The course would feature a series of wood, dock-like planking that includes inclines and declines, curves, and stairs for riders to navigate. The project would be similar to a course at a skateboard park.

Dayton Baker, Bryton Nostrant, Makenna Schram, and Emma Winfield explained their Park for the People project.

The Park for the People project would have outdoor workout equipment installed on a 2,000-square-foot portion of Bay View Park. The equipment could include a balance beam, chin-up bars, a rope-climbing station, and parallel bars.

Chloe Latz, Natalie Dohm, and Olivia Nowakowski presented their project to the council for new docks at Duck Park.

Meanwhile, Gwen Dikeman, Carter Wiedbrauk, and William Smith pitched their idea for a park at Birdsong Bay.

Alpena Mayor Cindy Johnson said she was impressed with all of the projects and added that the city has similar ideas.

“The quality of the presentations were remarkable for their age group and some of these ideas are already on our radar,” Johnson said. “We hope to incorporate some of them into our budget and accomplish them.”

Johnson said community engagement, especially from teens who are coming up with ways to improve Alpena, is always welcome and important.

“It is a wonderful collaboration between the schools, the students, and the city government,” she said. “It’s important for students to see they have input and their opinions matter and for them to see they can have positive outcomes in the community where they live.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.