Fourteen Oakland County communities have been awarded a total of $1.15 million in 2022 Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission Community Grants. These grants will assist municipalities with planning, preliminary engineering/design and construction costs directly related to local park improvement and trail projects.
Funding for the grants was made possible through support from the Oakland County Board of Commissioners and Oakland County voters, who approved an increased millage levy to support the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission. This initiative will be reviewed on an annual basis to determine grant funding availability and procedures.
Communities receiving Community Grant funds in 2022 include:
• City of Auburn Hills, $100,000 for the Hawk Woods nature-themed playground. This nature-themed accessible playground is for ages 2-12 at Hawk Woods, an 86-acre park with a strong environmental focus. The park provides recreation to a growing number of housing developments in the area as well as serves the greater community
• City of Birmingham, $100,000 for Adams Park redevelopment. The plan for Adams Park, 1.5 acres located adjacent to the Roeper School, includes a play area, garden seating plaza, court sports and landscaping improvements both for aesthetics and to improve stormwater management
• Township of Commerce, $152,000 for development of a trailhead and non-motorized pathway connecting Robert H. Long Nature Park with the MDOT Metro Trail along M-5. This project will resurface the parking lot at Robert H. Long Nature Park and construct an 8-foot pathway along 14 Mile Road to the Metro Trail, providing access to the park for trail users, and access to the trail for park users. It will include bioswales near the trailhead and will be paving over the existing parking lot in order to not have to haul material off site
• City of Farmington, $30,000 for replacement of fencing around the playscape at Shiawassee Park. The park includes ball fields, tennis courts, soccer field, playscape, restrooms, fitness court and walking path. This project will replace 492 feet of old wooden fence with new aluminum fencing that keeps children from wandering to the adjacent Rouge River
• City of Ferndale, $100,000 for Wilson Park accessibility development that includes accessible pathways, parking lot improvements, new playground equipment, site amenities like picnic tables and benches and landscape improvements to help with stormwater management
• City of Hazel Park, $46,000 for the Bob Welch Baseball Field Modernization Project
in Green Acres Park. This project will include three new bleachers and a new scoreboard. Baseball is the most popular sport offered by the City of Hazel Park’s recreation department and Bob Welch Field is a heavily utilized by both youth and adult leagues in Hazel Park and across the region. During the season, the field is used all day long and into the evening with metal halide lighting by leagues from across the region
• Village of Leonard, $22,800 for Leonard Nature Park development planning. This project involves design for improvements to Leonard Nature Park, a 3.1-acre nature preserve just south of Leonard’s business district and adjacent to the Polly Ann Trail, including design engineering and construction drawings to upgrade trails for accessibility and add accessible park amenities
• City of Novi, $100,000 for development of the 10-acre Northwest Park, including crushed aggregate trails, nature-themed play area, parking lot improvement and prairie restoration
• Township of Oxford, $100,000 for development of a pavilion, circular drive and accessible pathway at Seymour Lake Township Park. The 40’ x 100’ open-air pavilion will house the Oxford Farmer’s Market and also be utilized for community events and rentals
• City of Pontiac, $100,000 for Mattie McKinney Hatchett Park redevelopment that includes two new basketball courts, a new accessible play structure, recreation field, outdoor fitness equipment, walking path improvements, native plants and landscaping and seating
• City of Rochester, $25,000 for design engineering for the replacement of Bridge 31.7 along the Paint Creek Trail, just north of downtown Rochester. The bridge crosses the Paint Creek and recent inspections determined there was extensive deterioration of the structure, piers and abutments. The new bridge will be designed to be ADA compliant and also accommodate emergency vehicles
• City of Royal Oak, $71,250 for enhancing public access to the Royal Oak Arboretum
Trail improvement project including upgrading 1,300 linear feet of trail to hard surface instead of woodchips, as well as accessible benches and picnic table. The Arboretum is heavily used by residents and serves as an educational resource for the school district
• City of South Lyon, $100,000 for development of a new park in downtown South Lyon on a vacant city-owned parcel. This park will include a 10x10 shelter, pergola with swinging benches, decorative paving, a lawn area and various plantings. The space is envisioned to also house rotating artwork in the future, and includes sustainability measures such as native plantings, low-volume drip irrigation, LED lighting and recycled plastic benches and receptacles
• Township of West Bloomfield, $100,000 for the West Bloomfield Trail/Nature Preserve Restroom. The nature preserve is located adjacent to the West Bloomfield Trail and serves as a trailhead as well as provides parking. This project is to install two prefabricated “Green Flush” vault restrooms (replacing current port-a-johns) to enhance trail and preserve park- and trail-user experience and accessibility. Restrooms have multiple environmental sustainability features including up to 70 percent reduction in water usage compared to conventional flush restrooms
OCPR Director Chris Ward said the grants will fund projects that directly benefit residents through increased accessibility, added recreation opportunities and investment in local neighborhoods.
“The pandemic has given us all a renewed appreciation for our parks and green spaces. These grants are a great way to stretch limited tax dollars to make a big difference,” he said.
The online competitive application process for the OCPR Community Grant Program opened last November. Applications were open to all the county’s 62 cities, villages and townships with a minimum 25 percent grant match.
“Improving access to parks and trails is a great investment in public health and well-being. Oakland County Parks is pleased to work with our local government partners to make these great projects a reality,” Oakland County Parks and Recreation Chairman Gary R. McGillivray said.
The Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission is dedicated to providing all residents quality recreation experiences that encourage healthy lifestyles, support economic prosperity, promote the protection of natural resources. For more information about the Community Grants, visit OaklandCountyParks.com.
For information on other events, visit OaklandCountyParks.com
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