The Oakland County Board of Commissioners approved a consent agenda that includes establishing a new county park, Clinton River Oaks, and a set of smaller sponsorships and project items, while one commissioner voted no because of concerns about a separate contract extension with Motorola.

Commissioner Johnson praised the parks team and project partners for negotiations that assembled four parcels for the proposed Clinton River Oaks county park. “It’s a new county park, the biggest one since the 1990s,” Johnson said, adding that the package will preserve “about 300 acres of new land, 128 of which were privately held and inaccessible to the public.” Commissioners also said the project will repair two washouts on the Clinton River Trail and mitigate local environmental impacts.

Commissioner Hoffman asked whether the county portion of the new park will remain open free to residents; a county official and supporting commissioners said the county-managed entry points will remain free, while a separate portion maintained by the city of Rochester Hills (Bloomer Park) will continue to charge for parking. Hoffman noted the county recently approved a park millage increase and asked whether access standards remain consistent with that voter intent.

Not all commissioners supported the consent package. Commissioner Covell said he would vote no because his request to move items from the consent agenda for fuller review had been denied and because of what he described as a troubling contract extension. Covell raised item 10b — an extension of a Motorola call work support contract that began in 2016 — and summarized details from the item summary: the contract extension would keep the county on the agreement at least through 2025 with an option to extend for three more years; the not-to-exceed total has grown from about $2,900,000 to $5,700,000, and the contract was originally awarded through a competitive request-for-proposal process by the county purchasing unit. “So all of this just doesn't smell right,” Covell said.

The clerk recorded a roll-call vote adopting the consent agenda: 15 yeas, 2 nays. The consent package included the Clinton River Oaks park creation and the Motorola contract extension within the consent items.

Commissioners and staff also described practical details for the park. The county’s parks team negotiated with the cities of Rochester and Rochester Hills, the Clinton River Trail organization, private landowners and other agencies to assemble the parcels. One commissioner noted that about 128 acres were previously privately held and will now be protected for public access. Commissioners said local partners will maintain some facilities (including the portion of Bloomer Park in Rochester Hills that charges for parking), but “there are other entryways to the Oakland County portion. Those will always be free access,” a commissioner said during discussion.

The board also accepted communications from the chair that authorized submission of several grant applications to meet deadlines, including a $95,000 application to the ASPCA’s Community Veterinary Care Initiative for the Animal Shelter and Pet Adoption Center, a $118,300.50 application to the Automobile Theft Prevention Authority for the prosecutor’s office, and a $73,096 Paul Coverdell grant request for the sheriff’s office. Chair David T. Woodward’s memo stated he used his authority to approve grant submissions that exceeded $50,000 to meet submission deadlines.

Next steps for the Clinton River Oaks item include formalizing land acquisition and project implementation through county parks staff and partners. The Motorola contract item remains part of the adopted consent agenda; commissioners who raised procurement concerns asked for follow-up documentation and greater transparency about contract history and competitive procurement details.

The board moved on to its regular agenda after adopting the consent agenda.