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'Mission 26': Oakland County parks director lays out plan to expand access and modernize facilities
Summary
Oakland County Parks and Recreation director presented 'Mission 26,' a voter‑backed plan to add acreage and facilities, reduce distance to parks for hundreds of thousands of residents, and address deferred maintenance funded in part by ARPA and the 2024 voter approval.
The Oakland County Parks and Recreation director presented "Mission 26" to the Board of Commissioners on March 11, describing a countywide effort to use voter-approved funding and partnerships to expand and modernize park access.
The director said Mission 26 is inspired by the mid‑20th century "Mission 66" national parks effort and is funded by a 2024 ballot measure and other sources. He outlined concrete targets: about 600 acres added to the county park system through partnerships (no acquisition dollars spent on some parcels, money focused on improvements), expanding county park locations from roughly 14 to more than 20, and increasing the number of residents within 3 miles of a county park by about 220,000 — a projected rise from roughly 40% to 73% countywide. He also noted the county has identified roughly $20 million in deferred‑maintenance projects earlier in the decade and is about 75% through completing that list.
The director emphasized equity and access concerns, saying much of the county's park infrastructure is concentrated in northern and western communities while central and southern Oakland County have been underserved. He flagged demographic trends — an aging population and income‑based gaps in park use — and said Mission 26 includes both new facilities and strategies to keep people using parks year‑round (plowed pathways, lighting, warming stations and accessible programming).
Planned features mentioned for this summer include new playgrounds, pickleball courts, pavilion improvements, and an intergenerational play garden at Red Oaks. The director described "discovery gateways" — sites that combine learning and recreation — and cited a public engagement portal, engage.oaklandcountyparks.com, for community input on designs.
Commissioners asked a few clarifying questions about budget scale and partnerships during the presentation. The director attributed recent progress to voter support and partnerships with local governments and nonprofits, and he asked the board to continue prioritizing recreation investments and preservation of natural resources.
