Council commits $50,000 match to state grant for Civic Arena universal-access restrooms

St. Clair Shores — The City Council on April 6 adopted a resolution to provide a $50,000 city match to a $150,000 Recreation Passport grant supporting universal-access bathroom renovations at Civic Arena.

Liz Cotto, city planner, told the council the grant will pay roughly $150,000 toward renovating two restrooms and that the city is required to designate a $50,000 match from parks and recreation funds. "We received a grant from the state of Michigan to renovate the two bathrooms in the Civic Arena. We are required to provide a $50,000 match along with the $150,000 that the state will be giving us for this," Cotto said.

Council members described universal design features that go beyond basic ADA compliance to improve usability for people of all ages and abilities, including lighting adjustments and eliminating loud hand dryers. Council member Frederick moved to adopt the resolution committing the match and framed it as a good value: "We're going to pay 25 cents on the dollar to virtually get some bathrooms that are in dire need of updating," he said.

Council approved the resolution by voice vote. Staff said the grant is a final step in a multi-stage application process and that the renovation will be scheduled and later celebrated with a dedication when complete.

The action commits $50,000 in city parks and recreation funds to match the Recreation Passport grant (award number PR25-0084). The transcript does not provide a construction timeline or final contractor selection; those will be addressed in later project steps.