A pair of grants from the Department of Natural Resources worth a combined $250,000 will be pursued by the Village of Oxford for a ramp park and playground redevelopment.
At its Jan. 27 meeting, council directed village President Steve Allen to complete the applications for a $200,000 DNR grant to build a ramp park (for skateboarding, free-style biking and in-line skating) and $50,000 DNR grant for playground redevelopment, both of which would be located in Scripter Park.
Being a public park open to both village residents and non-village residents, Scripter Park “falls well within (the DNR’s grant) guidelines,” Allen noted.
“One of the grant questions is if the park has a residents-only policy,” he explained. “They (the DNR) typically do not like to fund residents-only parks.”
Allen explained the ramp park grant would require $50,000 (25 percent) in matching funds from the village’s ramp park committee formed in December 2003.
The playground grant would require at least $12,500 (25 percent) in matching funds from the village. However, the village will be offering a $25,000 match to “sweeten the pot,” according to Allen.
Allen learned of these grants while attending the Michigan Parks and Recreation Association’s annual conference Jan. 18-21 in Grand Rapids.
“These grants would benefit the community as a whole, not just the village,” Allen said.
Youth ages 5-20 would benefit from the grants because it would give them a “free recreational alternative to organized sports” and “an alternative to ‘hanging out’ in the downtown,” he said.
Allen said the grants would provide “some long-needed enhancement to the existing Scripter Park, allowing entire families to enjoy its offerings together.”
A ramp park would “relieve a majority” of the village’s existing “youth/police/business owner issues” with “regard to boards, blades and bikes in downtown Oxford,” he noted.
Allen said the design, fundraising and building efforts for the ramp park will “create a sense of project ownership,” “instill civic pride in our youth,” and allow adults to “reconnect” with the community’s youth.
As for the playground redevelopment and expansion at Scripter Park, Allen said the DNR grant would “eliminate the necessity” to do it in phases over time (as originally planned) and immediately “bring this facility up to date in terms of offerings, safety, etc.”
Phase 1 of the playground expansion was completed last year and Phase 2 was slated for this year.
Council is required to hold a separate public hearing for each grant before the applications can be submitted. Officials scheduled both public hearings for the Tuesday, Feb. 10 regular council meeting.