The birth of a park

While the weather this winter has been unpredictable, we’re lucky that it never has to keep us from enjoying the outdoors. Whether we’re hitting a trail with our cross country skis or hiking boots, or headed to a park with our ice skates, opportunities for recreation continue even as the temperatures drop.

The season is also far from dormant for those planning for the future of our region’s parks. By the end of 2016, we learned that the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) had awarded more than $10 million in recreation grants to Southeast Michigan communities. These awards from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF), Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), and Recreation Passport Grant Program (RPGP) will be used to continue developing our parks and trails and acquiring new parkland.

SEMCOG continues to provide parks and recreation services, including support on recreation grant applications. We encourage you to contact us if you’re interested in applying! A great example of how we can assist comes from the City of Rochester Hills.

Now: Riverbend Park features a parking lot and unpaved walking paths for residents to use.

With 70 acres of undeveloped woodlands, wetlands, and open space situated along the Clinton River, the city is developing plans for its first new park in more than two decades. Currently known as Riverbend Park, the public is engaged in planning, design, fundraising, and even in searching for a new name that would distinguish it from other parks in the area. Plans include a number of development phases for the park, which will add features specially geared toward children with special needs, senior citizens, and low environmental impacts.

Next: Among the design features are several to enhance accessibility.

Rochester Hills Mayor Bryan Barnett hopes these efforts will not only make the park a success, in his community but also help it grow into a regional attraction. “Any time you’re working to do something innovative, new, and in this case quite large, you need to bring as many partners together as possible,” Barnett said. “That’s why community involvement has been such an important part of this process, and it’s also why we reached out to our partners at SEMCOG.”

This time last year, when the city was considering applying for a DNR recreation grant to help fund the park’s next phase of development, SEMCOG facilitated a meeting and site visit with Mayor Barnett, city staff, and the region’s DNR Grants Coordinator. We toured the park while discussing future plans, and helped the city learn more about the grant process and their options.

We were happy to hear recently that their application to the LWCF was awarded $150,000 for 2017! Construction will soon be underway for new pathways, boardwalks, restrooms, signage, benches, and other landscaping improvements. Additional funding will come from the city, private donations, and additional grants.

“We want to open every door we possibly can so that we deliver this park to our community and the region as soon as possible,” Barnett said. “We’re tremendously proud of the progress we continue to make, and this grant award brings us one step closer to our goal.”

If your community is interested in applying for a DNR recreation grant this year, SEMCOG is ready to assist as you develop your application. As we work to coordinate local efforts throughout the region, we look forward to hearing more success stories, and seeing our recreation opportunities in Southeast Michigan continue to grow.