By Jim Bloch
The city of Port Huron has applied for four grants totaling $900,000 through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for improvements at Harrison Pointe Park and Knox Field and Park.
The city council held public hearings on each of the applications and voted unanimously to apply for the grants at its regular meeting March 11.
“The DNR requires that we hold public hearings when we apply for their trust fund grants,” said City Manager James Freed, as heard on the recording of the meeting posted on YouTube. “There’s different pots of money. So we apply for multiple pots of money at the same time in hopes of landing one or both to make the project more successful.”
The city applied for a $300,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund for “accessible play features, a multi-sport field, ADA parking and pathways; and related park amenities” at Harrison Pointe Park, according to the resolution approved by council.
If the city wins the grant, it will have to kick in $300,000 for the project, which is estimated to cost $600,000.
Residents who spoke during the public hearing were in favor of the grant applications.
“Now we have somebody who’s going to be a conscientious owner of that property,” said Ken Harris, referring to Save Our Neighborhoods and Streets Outreach, a religious organization serving 650 young people in the city; SONS purchased the former Harrison Pointe Elementary School last year with the help of $300,000 from the city’s pool of American Rescue Fund Act money. Harris said he hopes the city’s contribution to the contiguous park enhances the work of SONS at the school.
“We are very grateful to have Harrison Pointe Park as an official city park,” said resident Kathleen McCready.
Council member Anita Ashford said that residents have told her they support the park projects in a “huge way.”
“I think it’s a great addition to the neighborhood,” said Mayor Pauline Repp.
The city applied for a $150,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Recreation Passport for the improvements at Harrison Pointe. The grant award would require a $150,000 match from the city.
For Knox Field and Park, the city applied for $300,000 from the MDNR Trust Fund and $150,000 from the MDNR Recreation Passport for “accessible play features, a multi-sport field, ADA parking and pathways; and related park amenities.”
The grant awards would require $300,000 and $150,000 matches respectively from the city.
For each grant, the city’s money will come from a combination of its annual millage allocation from St. Clair County Parks and Recreation, “local revenues, donations, fundraisers, in-kind services and local labor from city staff and volunteers,” according to the supporting resolutions.
The proposed work emerged from “community feedback on recreational needs through surveys, public hearings, exchanges with local stakeholders and outreach to partners that represent individuals with special needs or challenges during the development of the Recreation Plan’s Five-Year Action Plan,” according to the resolutions.
The recreation action plan runs 2023-2027.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
