Creating welcoming, vibrant outdoor spaces for all Flint residents
Parks and playgrounds create spaces for residents of all ages to gather, play and enjoy the outdoors. These spaces add a lot to quality of life.
In February, the Mott Foundation announced we would grant up to $20 million to improve playgrounds and parks throughout the city of Flint. We began by granting more than $7 million to Flint Community Schools to improve playgrounds at five elementary schools.
This is one of several initiatives the Foundation is supporting as we celebrate 100 years of working in partnership with our hometown of Flint and communities around the world. Now we want to hear from residents about your priorities for city parks throughout Flint!
You have until June 6 to vote on what you’d like to see in your favorite parks. Residents who prefer to share their priorities in person can do so at the Mott Foundation Centennial Family Fun Days on Saturday, June 6, from noon to 6 p.m. on the Flint Cultural Center campus.
The input we receive will help inform our grantmaking throughout the year. Though we likely won’t be able to fund every project, our goal is to make improvements in parks throughout the city.
Inspiration
Palmer Park
Innovation Hills Park
Photo: Courtesy of the city of Rochester Hills
Clark Park
Photo: Courtesy of the city of Detroit
The voting platform includes a list of parks owned by the city of Flint. You can share your priorities for up to three parks. Once you choose a park, you can select up to three projects you’d like to see there.
The city of Flint and Keep Genesee County Beautiful already had gathered some helpful input from Flint residents, and we used this information as a jumping off point for lists of potential projects. However, you can add text to describe ideas you don’t see in the lists. Many of the voting options include features that could increase safety and usability. This is something we heard a lot about in recent community conversations and in discussions with community partners.
To learn more about city parks in Flint, where they’re located and the features currently available within each park, check out a map created by Michigan State University’s Department of Public Health. The map will continue to be updated as improvements and renovations are completed.
If you have any questions, please email parksandplaygrounds@mott.org or call 810-238-5651.
Thank you for helping to make Flint parks even better!
A couple of important notes:
• The new state park in Flint is not included in the $20 million centennial initiative. However, we still want to get your input on three state park spaces — Chevy Commons, Mott Park Recreation Area and Vietnam Veterans Park. We will share this information with Genesee County Parks, which is working with local partners to develop recreational features on those properties. The Mott Foundation has proudly supported design and construction work for the new state park, as well as funded an endowment at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint to support ongoing maintenance of the park. We are excited to learn more about what residents want to see there.
• Parks that are less than an acre and a few other parks are not included in the voting list based on recent investments or limitations of the sites. However, this initiative will support “refreshes,” such as fresh coats of paint, equipment upgrades and garbage cans at the following parks: Amos, Bundy, Delaware, Dougherty, East Street, Hamilton, Mann-Hall, McCallum, McClellan, Metawanee, Mobley, Ogema Triangle and Dayton. Even though they aren’t in the voting list, you will have the opportunity to submit ideas at the bottom of the voting page for potential features or updates that could be accommodated in these smaller, beloved sites.
Vote here!
