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Oakland County panel recommends $200,000 for Farmington fitness courts, approves several park grants and interlocal agreements
Summary
The Oakland County commissioners’ committee recommended county support for a $200,000 matching grant to the city of Farmington for two outdoor fitness courts, accepted multiple park-related grants including $150,000 for urban forestry, and recommended interlocal agreements to expand and operate parks in Pontiac and Southfield.
Oakland County commissioners’ parks and recreation committee on Feb. 14 recommended county backing for multiple park projects, including a $200,000 match for two fitness courts in the city of Farmington, acceptance of several federal- and state-funded grants, and interlocal agreements that transfer management or adjust boundaries for regional park properties.
The committee recommended that the full Board of Commissioners approve a $200,000 strategic partnership grant to the city of Farmington to support two fitness courts—one at Shiawassee Park and one at Flanders Park—that county staff said will leverage a $105,000 Priority Health grant and $172,500 in other matching funds. Mayor Joe LaRusso described the courts as part of a national nonprofit program aimed at promoting outdoor fitness: "The fitness courts are part of a national fitness challenge... their goal is to have 1 of these courts within 10 minutes of any residence domicile so they really want to promote active living healthy lifestyle and outdoor fitness." The committee voted to recommend the item to the full board (motion and vote recorded at the meeting).
Committee members also received and filed multiple grant items. County staff described a $25,000 grant application to the Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network to restore a "rare prairie fen remnant habitat" at Robland Oaks Park. Parks staff presented a separate FY25 grant acceptance for $4,500 through the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) Sustaining Healthy Aging program, funded via the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to support training and programming for older adults' recreation. In a separate motion, the committee recommended acceptance of a DNR Urban and Community Forestry Inflation Reduction Act grant of $150,000 to support ARPA-related reforestation and maintenance in project areas.
The committee recommended two interlocal/operating agreements tied to the county’s ARPA Healthy Communities initiatives. One item concerned a long-term operating agreement to manage the former Hawthorne Elementary site—now part of a park referred to in discussion as Piant Oaks—on property owned by the Pontiac School District. Parks staff described the parcel as 18.96 acres and said the county will operate and activate the site while the district retains ownership; the agreement includes a clause that if the district reclaims the property it must reimburse the county for depreciated capital improvements. The committee also recommended an amendment to an interlocal partnership with the city of Southfield to slightly adjust acreage for a nature-restore project on the former Beach Woods Golf Course; staff said the change reduces county acreage by less than one acre to accommodate a city-located structure.
Staff and commissioners discussed logistics: transit access to Shiawassee Park, concrete pads for the fitness court installations, and opportunities to coordinate construction with other city work to reduce costs. Parks staff said one of the fitness court sites will include an open studio space for outdoor fitness classes and estimated footprints of roughly "20 by 20/20 by 30" for the smaller court and "20 by 50" for the larger court. Commissioners asked staff to include transit considerations when planning future projects.
Votes at a glance - Parks & Rec 2025 strategic partnership grant with City of Farmington (two fitness courts): committee recommended to full board; committee vote recorded as 7 ayes, 0 nays. - Grant application: Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network restoration, $25,000: motion to receive and file approved (motion moved by Commissioner Juliette; seconded by Commissioner Luebbs). - Grant acceptance: FY25 NRPA Sustaining Healthy Aging, $4,500: motion to receive and file approved (moved by Commissioner Lueb; seconded by Commissioner Taylor). - Interlocal agreement (Pontiac School District) to operate former Hawthorne site (Piant Oaks): committee recommended to full board (motion passed at committee). - Amendment to interlocal with City of Southfield (Beach Woods/restore): committee recommended to full board (motion passed at committee). - Grant acceptance: FY25 DNR Urban and Community Forestry Inflation Reduction Act grant, $150,000: committee recommended to finance (motion passed at committee).
The committee’s recommendations will go to the full Board of Commissioners for final approval. Several commissioners and local officials said they hope rapid approval will allow construction this season on time-sensitive projects.
