Pontiac park joining OCP system
“When we worked here together, we fought, scratched, and clawed to make people's lives a tiny bit better. That's what public service is all about...” - Leslie Knope
As we head into our busiest month, I want to express my thanks to all of you for everything you do to support Oakland County Parks. The work that we do does make people’s lives better and often much more than a tiny bit. It takes a lot of talented, dedicated and creative people contributing in countless ways to make everything we do possible.
In a little less than 90 days, we will be welcoming Hawthorne Park in the City of Pontiac as the newest addition to the Oakland County Parks family. The 77-acre property is home to one of the highest rated disc golf courses in the region, fishing and boating access to Upper Silver Lake, and a convenient playground for parents. Pontiac has faced extraordinary economic challenges for many years which have limited their ability to keep pace with the maintenance needs of the facilities and grounds. The partnership we have reached with the City of Pontiac and the funds secured in our American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) plan is providing a unique opportunity to revitalize the park and for Oakland County Parks to play a bigger role improving the lives of the residents of the community on an ongoing basis. There will be plenty of opportunities in the coming weeks for you to participate in our work at the park. I hope you will join us.
Parks Director Chris Ward
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On June 28 the official start of the transition period of Oakland County Parks operating Hawthorne Park began. This partnership with the City of Pontiac is part of the American Rescue Plan Fund Act plans.
OCP staff wasted no time by quickly addressing safety hazards and general park maintenance. Tasks included an extensive trash and storm debris pick up, replenishing playground mulch, trimming of a tree with a dangerous hanging limb and mowing and mulching of the turf in the wooded picnic area. Additional safety concerns that were addressed were the removals of the existing mulch barrier that was broken and a tripping hazard, benches in the playground area that did not meet playground safety standards, and other broken playground equipment.
Replacement parts for the playground equipment have been on order since early June, replacement benches have been installed, and biweekly trash pick-up and weekly mowing has begun. On the Natural Resources side, no mow zones have been marked, stump grinding began, waterway assessments have taken place and forestry management is in the works. A lot of progress has been made in just the first week, with many more improvements to come. A cleanup date wouldn’t be successful without lunch to celebrate all of the hard work.
Thanks to everyone who has participated in making Hawthorne a safer and more welcoming park!
This July, Oakland County Parks invites residents to celebrate Park and Recreation Month by visiting a new or favorite park and by thanking park staff for the important work they do to improve the quality of life in local communities. Residents can also share how parks have impacted their lives or community on social media using #OaklandCountyParks and #WhereCommunityGrows.
The National Recreation and Park Association created Park and Recreation Month to raise awareness of the essential services that park and recreation professionals provide to communities across the United States. The Oakland County Parks Commission and Oakland County Board of Commissioners both passed resolutions designating July as Park and Recreation Month.
Addison - Addison is full of projects in the park and campground. The conversion of group area 3 and 4 into individual camp sites will be completed this summer. This adds 10 new campsites, of which four are ADA sites. The old rental house will soon be the new park office, providing a location that can service the park and patrons better. Rachel Boyd has been a great addition to the Addison team. Her years of experience and customer service are a great benefit to the park and staff.
Groveland – Groveland Oaks Campground is having another busy camping season. After a full year of operation under their belts, Jamie Weasel and Ann Blizzard have created an exciting positive atmosphere and it shows throughout every operation within the park. Campground Rec has some new fun programs this year along with the addition of train rides. Another off-season improvement was the replacement of the mini golf turf. Planning is taking place now for additional improvements to enhance the campground experience. These include moving boat rentals to the beach side of Stewart Lake and repurposing the concession area into a camp store.
Holly – Holly Oaks continues to be busy with corporate rentals throughout the week, providing additional revenues during times that would normally be very slow if open to the public for general admission. A new storage garage has been completed and is being used for events and rentals.
Independence – Independence Oaks staff has been working hard to continue to improve the park. Trail trimming, painting, grounds and beds at the Nature Center and park entrance are all noticeable improvements. Jeremy Brown and Dave Patnaude’s attention to detail is evident throughout the park. The bridge to the nature center was failing and replaced this spring. Parking lot improvements have been made to the boathouse area.
Orion – The Clarkston Road parking lot has been regraded and new fencing installed. A new well was installed and after a few bumps in the road, finally approved to be used. The dog park bathrooms are the first in parks to have automated locks for opening and closing hours and if successful, will be implemented at other parks.
White Lake - White Lake has had some improvements made this past off season. Thanks to Colin Gibbs and his staff, the grill room is now accessible to the pro shop through a large walk-through opening. This has created operational efficiencies by allowing for food and beverage sales form one location. It also created a more welcoming space that has nothing but positive feedback from the golfers. The Conference Center has been renamed the Event Center and that space no longer has a liquor license so it can be rented the same as the other facilities within parks.
Springfield – Springfield Oaks has had a busy off season. Laurie Cooper and Steve Whaley have taken on the operations of Highland Oaks and Rose Oaks. A lot of time has been dedicated to improving those parks and the impacts have been immediate. The Springfield golf course cart paths on the back nine have been repaved with some being extended. The tee box on hole #15 was rebuilt in front to remove a failing retention wall and create a safer area for golfers and mowers. The Park/Fairgrounds are busier than ever. The Activity Center is rented weekly for indoor pickle ball during the winter months. The Ellis Barn and Activity Center are booked almost every weekend during the spring, fall and summer. A recent grant received by the Oakland County Fair Association allowed for repaving of failing asphalt around the exhibit barns and paving of the drive from the entrance to the Ellis Barn.
Experience ultimate thrills during the Oakland County Fair through July 16 at Springfield Oaks County Park. Oakland County Parks is the fair’s Presenting Sponsor.
Main arena events, contests, food, Big Rock Amusements carnival, fireworks, a free concert, livestock and youth competitions are fair favorites. Visitors can stroll through barns to see horses, cattle, sheep, pigs and rabbits and view newborn animals in the Miracle of Birth Barn.
The fair will also feature Hot Glass Academy, a series of glass blowing demonstrations; K9’s in Flight, showcasing the skills of the world's top Frisbee dogs, big air high-jump dogs and the high-flying dock-diving dogs; Master Chain Saw Artist Ben Risney, who will create up to three carvings daily; Racing Pigs; and Show-Me-Safari Petting Zoo.
Main arena events in the evening include an off-road demolition derby, Micro Wrestling, Figure 8 Races, Superkicker Rodeo, Night of Destruction and Monster Trucks. Tickets for these events may be purchased at OakFair.org.
Oakland County Parks is working to electrify our fleet vehicles and started with two all-electric Chevy Bolts. The Bolts replaced trucks used by Natural Resources and are located at Waterford Oaks. The building maintenance team installed a level 2 charger in the maintenance parking lot for faster charging and the vehicles have over 250 miles in range. More electric vehicles are becoming available, and we’ll start to replace existing trucks, cars and SUVs with electric versions over the next 5-10 years along with installing chargers at every park. All staff are welcome to come test drive the Bolts, see how the charging system works, and learn about the cool features like one pedal driving.
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Congratulations to Mary Blumka, Kegan Schildberg and Sandy Dorey for being nominated for employee recognition honors. Their nominations were posted in a June issue of The Telegraph.
Mary Blumka, recreation program supervisor at Wint Nature Center
Mary is a team leader! Her positive energy and passion for learning encourages her staff to try new things and put their best foot forward.
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Kegan Schildberg, program coordinator for Natural Resources
He is very welcoming to new members of the crew. He does his best to stay up to date and involved in our field work in natural resources. He consistently checks in with the field crew to ensure that we are getting enough breaks in the heat of summer and does his best to take on the most difficult tasks. He also works to make sure that we know what resources are available to us as Oakland County employees. He often gives us career advice on how we can continue and advance in our field. He also takes special interest in each of our career goals and checks in to see if there is specific work experience that he can help us gain.
He is an amazing supervisor who takes time to help out where he can and invest in our crew. He's always helping build our resume for our future. He makes sure everyone feels welcome and included in anything we do as a department. He always lends a listening ear when something happens and is there to fix it right away. He also teaches us something new and relevant anytime he's in the field with us. I feel like he is allowing me a leg up with getting relevant experience in my seasonal position to help my future career.
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Sandy Dorey, recreation program supervisor for Adaptive Recreation
Sandy is one of those dedicated staff members we have here at Oakland County Parks.
She always goes above and beyond to make sure her program participants are able to enjoy their activities and experience to the fullest!
She is a shining example of an inclusive professional who dedicates herself to expanding opportunities for individuals who are often not considered when planning programming and events, and instead centers the programs to meet and exceed their needs. I am grateful to have Sandy as a colleague and as a collaborative professional!
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Summer is officially here! Oakland County Parks kicked off the season on the first day of summer with a Come Out and Play with more than 600 participants. It was the first date of the three-date series so there will be opportunities to attend in the future. Families, friends, and community groups can enjoy the zipline, climbing tower, inflatables, and other messy fun at this free event. We are excited to see the success of this program grow on July 21 and Aug. 2 at Catalpa Oaks County Park from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Socks and closed-toe shoes are required for the zipline, climbing tower, and inflatables. Bathing suits are encouraged for the water inflatables and bubble zone.
Following the Come Out and Play on July 21 will be Summer Shindig an added night of fun. The event will have our Inflatables, a climbing tower, zip line, face painting and balloon artists from 6-8:30 p.m. A concert will take place from 7:30-9 p.m. followed by the movie "Family Camp," which will begin around 9 p.m. There is no cost for the activities, concert or movie.
Food trucks will also be included; the Little Donut Factory, Kona Ice and Bomb Diggity Dogs, will have hot dogs, snow cones, popcorn, donuts and more for sale from 6-9 p.m.
We hope you will join us!
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The first session of swim lessons at Waterford Oaks Wave Pool ran June 20-29. The swim lessons are a partnership between Oakland County Parks and the Huron Clinton Metroparks, which provides funds to offer free water safety and learn to swim lessons for 40 students a session that’s geared toward participants ages 5-13 years old. Next up is two sessions with participants from Pontiac Parks & Recreation and the summer will finish with youth involved in the Oakland County Sheriff PAL program. Due to the efforts of our Waterford Oaks staff and swim instructors, we have been able to quadruple offerings from 40 students last year to 160 students in 2023.
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Red Oaks Waterpark and Waterford Oaks Wave Pool were incredibly popular places to beat the heat on the 4th of July.
Red Oaks sold 2,192 tickets and Waterford sold 1,315. Staff at both facilities did an excellent job of managing the crowds and keeping everyone safe throughout the day. It takes months of preparation to be ready for crowds like this. Significant hours go into hiring, onboarding and training the staff. Staff at the Parks, Facilities Maintenance and Development and Engineering spent the spring preparing the facilities to open and each day make sure the public has a welcoming, clean and safe atmosphere to enjoy. Constant communication and support are needed from the Sherriff’s Office, PR Tech and Marketing & Communications to make sure that the public is safe and supported, has the information they need to plan an enjoyable day and the ability to purchase tickets to enter the facilities.
Without everyone working together, we are not able to provide this service to the Oakland County community. Although sometimes thankless, please know that all effort of the staff that work directly and indirectly at these Aquatic Facilities is greatly appreciated by all who take advantage of these facilities.
Groveland Oaks campground recently installed seven solar bollard lights manufactured by First Light Technologies at key locations in the campground. The goal is to test the lighting technology and look at the potential for further applications and installations.
The lights need two-three hours of direct sunlight per day and are programmable to come on at dusk, stay on four-six hours and then come on again before dawn. The bollards have an eight-10 year lifespan and feature high output LEDs with more than 100,000 hour bulbs. The battery pack is a high-performance lithium unit charged by the top mounted solar panel.
Sarah Cook-Maylen, Chief of Planning and Environmental Sustainability, organized and funded the project. She also coordinated with the students who wanted to be involved in the project: Vishal Swamy, 15, a student at Novi High School; Srikar Nelakuditi, 17, a student at Novi High School; and Max Werner, 19, a student at Michigan State University.
They are excited about the free lighting technology with no cords/grid for lighting. Both Vishal and Srikar are leaders of a group named “Stewards Sustainability Leadership Institute” that looks for projects to promote sustainability. They are interested in further projects in the parks.
Jamie Weasel, Supervisor of Groveland Oaks, worked with the students getting the installation areas prepped and mounting brackets installed.
“It was great working with the students, they are passionate and full of energy about making Oakland County a leader in sustainability,” he said.
Parks staff traded uniforms for party dresses for the Time for Tea event at Springfield Oaks in mid-June. This annual event is a favorite for staff and attendees.
Pictured left to right: Anna Forshey; Tricia Schultz; Izzy Aune; Carol Bacak-Egbo, Sandy Dorey; and Theresa Celesta.
In conjunction with the OakFit Walks program, the OCP Walks series includes weekly email updates on our teams and their progress. These emails also highlighting different activities you can try at our parks to earn more steps as well as some of our programming and events for all Parks staff to check out.
So far, we have featured biking, yoga, kayaking, tai chi, and walking, and a myriad of parks events and activities. Our latest featured event is the Oakland County Fair at Springfield Oaks! It’s a great way to earn extra steps and take in the fun and excitement of the fair.
Our competition is heating up in July! Here is our current leaderboard for our Parks teams from our latest OCP Walks email:
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Bog Bodies
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Glen Oaks Team #1
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Glen Oaks Team #2
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A-Team
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Trail Tater Trots
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Glen Oaks Team #3
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Department of Civil Serpents
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The Walkingsticks
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The Holy Walkamolies
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The Nervous Financial Recs
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Walking Rec'ers
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Trailblazers
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Parks mODe
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Wildlife Wanderers
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Bamboozled
Did you know? Our Parks teams have reported a total of 5,087 miles so far during the competition, with an average of 28 miles or 62,000 steps per week! Great job and keep on stepping!
If you have an item you would like to see in the August issue of Newsbreak, please send it to ParksPR@oakgov.com by July 26.
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