The Oakland County Health Division is offering second COVID-19 booster shots for residents who are at least 50 years old and individuals 12 years and older with weakened immune systems. Those individuals are eligible if they’ve received a booster dose at least four months ago.
Those interested can make appointments for the Health Division's Pontiac office, 1200 North Telegraph Rd., Bldg. 34E, and the Southfield office, 27725 Greenfield Rd. Visit www.OaklandCountyVaccine.com or contact the Nurse on Call at 800-848-5533 to make an appointment. Walk-ins are also welcome.
An Earth Day tree planting in Royal Oak Township will help support stormwater management in the George W. Kuhn Drainage District (GWK) which serves 14 Oakland County communities, all of which have encountered significant flooding during heavy rains in recent years.
Oakland County planted five trees donated by the Detroit Zoo in Mack-Rowe Park as part of the OAKSTEM tree planting grant program initiated by Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter, Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash and the Board of Commissioners in 2021. OAKSTEM is a matching grant program for GWK communities in partnership with the Oakland County Department of Economic Development, Water Resources Commissioner and the Board of Commissioners, which contributed $100,000, $50,000, and $50,000, respectively.
The program’s purpose is to increase the tree canopy and decrease the surface area that is impervious to rain in communities that make up the GWK area, which has among the highest percentage of impervious surface area in Oakland County. OAKSTEM encourages GWK communities to begin, continue or expand their street tree planting programs. In addition to Royal Oak Township, municipalities that are all or partly in the GWK drainage district are Berkley, Beverly Hills, Birmingham, Clawson, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Huntington Woods, Madison Heights, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, the City of Royal Oak, Southfield and Troy.
Communities that were awarded grants contribute a one-to-one match of their own funds. The grant supplemented tree planting projects during the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 planting seasons. Since OAKSTEM's launch last summer, it has awarded $156,060 in grants to 12 communities. In total, OAKSTEM will support the planting of approximately 1,350 trees.
Fourteen Oakland County communities have been awarded a total of $1.15 million in 2022 Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission Community Grants, which will assist municipalities with planning, preliminary engineering/design and construction costs directly related to local park improvement and trail projects.
Funding for the grants was made possible through support from the Oakland County Board of Commissioners and Oakland County voters, who approved an increased millage levy to support the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Commission. Communities receiving Community Grant funds in 2022 include:
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City of Auburn Hills, $100,000 for the Hawk Woods nature-themed playground
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City of Birmingham, $100,000 for Adams Park redevelopment
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Township of Commerce, $152,000 for development of a trailhead and non-motorized pathway connecting Robert H. Long Nature Park with the MDOT Metro Trail along M-5
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City of Farmington, $30,000 for replacement of fencing around the playscape at Shiawassee Park
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City of Ferndale, $100,000 for Wilson Park accessibility development that includes accessible pathways, parking lot improvements, new playground equipment, site amenities and landscape improvements to help with stormwater management
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City of Hazel Park, $46,000 for the Bob Welch Baseball Field Modernization Project in Green Acres Park
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Village of Leonard, $22,800 for Leonard Nature Park development planning
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City of Novi, $100,000 for development of the 10-acre Northwest Park, including crushed aggregate trails, nature-themed play area, parking lot improvement and prairie restoration
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Township of Oxford, $100,000 for development of a pavilion, circular drive and accessible pathway at Seymour Lake Township Park
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City of Pontiac, $100,000 for Mattie McKinney Hatchett Park redevelopment that includes two new basketball courts, a new accessible play structure, recreation field, outdoor fitness equipment, walking path improvements, native plants and landscaping and seating
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City of Rochester, $25,000 for design engineering for the replacement of Bridge 31.7 along the Paint Creek Trail, just north of downtown Rochester
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City of Royal Oak, $71,250 for enhancing public access to the Royal Oak Arboretum Trail improvement project including upgrading 1,300 linear feet of trail to hard surface instead of woodchips, as well as accessible benches and picnic table
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City of South Lyon, $100,000 for development of a new park in downtown South Lyon on a vacant city-owned parcel
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Township of West Bloomfield, $100,000 for the West Bloomfield Trail/Nature Preserve Restroom
The online competitive application process for the OCPR Community Grant Program opened last November, and applications were open to all of the county’s 62 cities, villages and townships with a minimum 25 percent grant match.
The 37th annual U-M forecast of Oakland County’s economy was hosted by the county’s Department of Economic Development on April 28.
According to the report, Oakland County is rebounding from the pandemic and recession, with dramatically dropping jobless rates and rising wages, though national and global factors such as inflation and war in Ukraine still pose economic risks. The county is expected to surpass its pre-COVID-19 employment level during the third quarter of this year and see its unemployment rate drop below 3 percent by the end of 2024 – nearly a half percentage point below its average level in 2019.
In its annual forecast of the Oakland County economy, the U-M Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics predicts the number of jobs will grow by 4.3 percent this year, 2.9 percent in 2023 and 1.7 percent in 2024. The county’s payroll jobs count in 2024 is forecast to exceed the 2019 level by about 12,500 jobs, the report says.
To read the full report and view the presentation, visit bit.ly/3ikStfb.
Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash awarded Mandy Chu, a senior at Troy Athens High School, with the first-place prize for the Preserve MI Waters: Stormwater Manhole Cover Art Contest at the full Board of Commissioners meeting on April 14.
Her design was selected from 74 entries and will be cast onto 50 storm drain manhole covers, which will start appearing across Oakland County beginning this summer. In addition to seeing her work come to life throughout Oakland County, she was awarded a $1,000 scholarship by Pure Oakland Water, a Michigan not-for-profit organization dedicated to protecting Oakland County and regional water resources through public education.
Oakland County Michigan Works! has launched the Oakland80 Tuition Scholarship program to help eligible residents obtain skills needed to flourish in a range of high-demand careers. More than 650 tuition scholarships are available, each worth up to $2,000 with the possibility of additional funding through Oakland County Michigan Works! The program is intended to help individuals interested in short-term career training that leads to a job in fields such as advanced manufacturing, construction, defense, healthcare or information technology. The funds also may help pay for tuition in a four-year degree program, if a student is finishing his/her/their last semester.
To be eligible for an Oakland80 Tuition Scholarship, applicants must be a U.S. citizen or authorized to work in the United States, 18 years of age or older, a high school graduate or equivalent, and registered with the Selective Service (if applicable). Related expenses may include textbooks, classroom supplies, uniforms, and transportation needs. Those who wish to apply for an Oakland80 Tuition Scholarship should contact their nearest Oakland County Michigan Works! office.
Lymantria dispar, also known as the spongy moth, completes one generation each year, and eggs may begin hatching and caterpillars appearing across Oakland County in early and mid-May.
The spongy moth feeds on the leaves of more than 300 species of trees, and this invasive pest, which is native to Europe, will heavily or even completely defoliate a tree.
Homeowners who believe they have a spongy moth infestation can request to have their property surveyed by contacting the MSU Extension office at 248-858-0887 or moth.oc@msu.edu.
The Oakland County Board of Commissioners website, Facebook page, YouTube channel and commissioner newsletters are great ways for residents to stay engaged with the Board.
Individuals who follow the Board at @oakgov.boc on Facebook will see photos from events and information from around the county. Subscribers to the Board’s YouTube channel can receive notifications when Board meetings are live and easily find recent videos. The channel can be found by going to YouTube and searching for the “Oakland County Board of Commissioners” or going to bit.ly/YouTubeBOC. In addition, anyone can watch Board and committee meetings and access the latest news, meeting calendars, information about each commissioner and more by visiting www.oakgov.com/boc.
Constituents can also sign up for their district’s newsletter by clicking “Sign Up for my Newsletter” on the commissioner’s county website. They can find their commissioner by visiting www.oakgov.com/boc and clicking on the “Find your Commissioner” button.
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