Brighton Area Schools Reach Agreement with SELCRA

The school district and recreation authority have come to an agreement on use of school facilities.

After about nine months of negotiations, Brighton Area Schools and the Southeastern Livingston County Recreation Authority (SELCRA) have finally come to an agreement on the use of school facilites.  Brighton Board of Education members approved the joint user agreement during its meeting last week.  Superintendent Greg Gray said the majority of the changes are in that it is a three-year contract instead of an annual one, and that SELCRA will now pay the district a flat fee.  "The flat fee takes a lot of the administrative work out of it," Gray said. "We used to have to sit each month and go through bills and there were discrepencies, it was an absolute nightmare. We worked for months and months and months on this." Beginning July 1, SELCRA …

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SELCRA Sends Soccer Uniforms to Haiti

The Brighton First United Methodist Church delivered SELCRA soccer uniforms on its mission trip to Haiti last week.

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Meijer Skate Park Ice Rink Opens to the Public Saturday

SELCRA Director hopes to get a few weeks of use out of the ice rink before spring.

There's good news for ice skating fans. SELCRA announced that the Meijer Park Ice Rink will open to the public for the first time this weekend. Hours will be on Saturday, from 12-8 p.m., and Sunday, 12-6 p.m. The Brighton Area Fire Department was able to flood the rink earlier this month afternoon after a previous unsuccessful attempt in January. SELCRA Director Derek Smith said the ice needed a few weeks to freeze solid before use. "It's kind of a learning curve, being the first year that it's open and kind of going through some growing pains on how to actually get an outdoor ice rink to work," Smith said. "I think the key is the liner that we purchased - it wasn't an inexpensive venture, but now that we have it in place, it will actually…

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Meijer Skate Park Ice Rink Flooded; Set to Open Wednesday

The Brighton Area Fire Department flooded the rink Tuesday afternoon.

The second time's the charm - at least it is in the case of the ice rink at Meijer Skate Park. The Brighton Area Fire Department was able to flood the rink Tuesday afternoon, after an unsuccessful previous attempt last month. After the first attempt, SELCRA Director Derek Smith ordered a liner, which was shipped last week, in order to keep the water from escaping out of the sides of the wooden beams that make up the rink's construction. SELCRA funded the construction cost of the rink through a BP Fueling Communities Grant it received through Corrigan Oil, which also covered the cost of purchasing a liner. With the help of Get Plowed, a snow removal company in Brighton, the rink was plowed, the liner was laid and the fire department was …

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SELCRA Director: Ice Rink is a 'Trial and Error Endeavor'

Brighton Area Fire Department attempted the first flooding of the ice rink at Meijer Skate Park Friday.

The weather on Friday was cold and blistery, perfect for freezing water to create an ice rink at Meijer Skate Park. Unfortunately, much of the water - curtesy of the Brighton Area Fire Department - escaped out of the sides of the wooden beams that make up the rink's construction. SELCRA Director Derek Smith said that the ice rink is very much trial and error in this stage. Although he had hoped the rink would open for skaters this past weekend, Smith said instead, it might be later this week. Smith said that most of the water escaped, but the fire department got a nice first layer of water down, that would hopefully freeze over and provide more of a barrier for the next attempt, which would be sometime this week. Once the ice rink is ready…

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Meijer Skate Park Ice Rink Ready and Waiting for Cold Weather

Volunteers chipped in to help SELCRA build the ice rink in Brighton this week.

Many people came together this week to build the new Ice Rink at the Meijer Skate Park. From SELCRA's Facebook page: "The construction of the Meijer Park Ice Rink would not have been possible without the help of the BP/Corrigan fueling the community grant and The Home Depot for their donations. Also the Brighton Rotary Raiders and all the volunteers! This was truly a community effort!" SELCRA Director Derek Smith said all they need now is consistent cold weather. Once temperatures are consistent, the Brighton Area Fire Department will flood the rink. Thank you to all the volunteers for their hard work.

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Ice Rink Coming to Downtown Brighton

SELCRA will build an ice rink this winter at the Meijer Skate Park.

Meijer Skate Park will be getting a new addition in the form of an ice rink this winter, according to SELCRA Director Derek Smith. "The park's cement slab had originally been poured with the intention of flooding it, but it's just never been done," Smith said. "So we kind of started talking and heard through word of mouth that people in the community want a pond-hockey type of open skating place." Smith said SELCRA will fund the rink through a BP Fueling Communities Grant it received through Corrigan Oil. He also said they are working with Home Depot on lumber costs and other materials. The Brighton Area Fire Department has agreed to flood the rink - and keep it flooded. In addition, a local business owner has agreed to loan out his …

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SELCRA Wins Governor's Fitness Award

The Southeastern Livingston County Recreation Authority won the Extraordinary Event/Organization Award last week.

The Southeastern Livingston County Recreation Authority (SELCRA) received the Extraordinary Event/Organization Award from the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports for providing fitness opportunities to the public. The Governor’s Fitness Awards serve as a platform for recognizing individuals, public officials and organizations that are committed to healthy living. Each award recognizes the many different ways the winners are inspiring and influencing Michigan residents to live a healthy lifestyle. As an honoree, SELCRA representatives attended the Governor’s Fitness Award’s gala event at Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday where SELCRA was announced as the award recipient. Other finalists included EcoTrek Fitness, located…

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Brighton City Council Approves New Community Center Rental Fees

SELCRA Director Derek Smith proposed new rental fees to increase usage of the Brighton Community Center.

Brighton City Council members unanimously approved lower rental fees for the Brighton Community Center during its Thursday night meeting. The fees were recommended by Southeastern Livingston County Recreation Authority (SELCRA) Director Derek Smith. The City of Brighton has had a management oversight contract with SELCRA to manage the Community Center since 2010. City Manager Dana Foster said that the there has been no changes in rates or usage regulations since SELCRA took over management. Community Center rates were one flat fee of $250 for a six hour rental. Smith said it was causing a lot of potential renters to turn away because they only wanted it for a two hour business meeting. The new rates will be $50 per hour with a two hour …

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Donated SELCRA Soccer Uniforms Benefit Children in the Philippines

A Commerce Township resident conducted a soccer equipment drive in Brighton this past August.

This past year, the Southeastern Livingston County Recreation Authority (SELCRA) had to order new soccer uniforms to replace the previous ones — even though they were only 4 years old. SELCRA Administrative Supervisor Cheryl Royster said it was because the supplier could not get the material to match the older uniforms. "You come into a new season, and you only need about 300 to 400 more; he can't manufacture that many, so we had to go with a new style," Royster explained. "We're always looking for someone to use them. We don't want to just throw them out. But the problem is the shipping. We can't afford to ship them because it costs between $30 and $40 to ship 50 uniforms." That's where Commerce Township resident Mark Mangune came in. …

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