Birmingham applies for county parks grant

By Kevin Elliott

Birmingham city commissioners unanimously supported the city of Birmingham applying for a $100,000 grant from Oakland County Parks and Recreation for the future development of Adams Park, on North Adams, near the Roeper School, at their meeting on Monday, January 10.

Adams Park was purchased by the city in 2006, and established a shared-use agreement with the school as part of the sale. Under the agreement, the school has the ability to use the park for school related activities, such as recess and after school sports. Roeper contributes funding toward improvements of the track and field elements of the park, which are available for all users.

Birmingham Parks and Recreation Manager Carrie Laird said there is a park design ready, and the improvement of Adams Park is in the city’s five-year parks and recreation master plan. In hopes of helping to fund the project, Laird said the city is applying for a grant from Oakland County, through its Parks Improvements Grant Program.

“This would be from the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Bond passed in November of 2020, and a portion of that is available to local municipalities for park improvements or trail way improvements,” she said.

Laird said plans for Adams Park include ADA compliance and sustainability. And, while the plans include a picnic area, playground, court sports and field sports, the grant application would not relate to trails or pickleball courts.

“We will be considering other grant opportunities for these future projects,” she said.

The county bond includes $1.2 million for the county’s parks and recreation grant program, which are intended to assist local communities with planning, preliminary engineering, design and construction costs related to park and trail improvement projects. Of the $1.2 million, about $450,000 is dedicated to park projects.

Laird said the city will be applying for a park improvement development grant for the maximum amount of $100,000. Commissioners unanimously approved the application.