Nik Rajkovic / news@whmi.com

The City of Brighton now has a long-term recreation plan, approved by council Tuesday night after months of feedback from the public.

"It's required to be updated in order to be eligible for several state grants," said City Manager Gretchen Gomolka. "Last year, we couldn't apply for some because we were working through the process and it had been more than five years old.

"It's not just something that sits in the master plan. It's actually a usable document that's used by state entities to assist us in funding."

Jill Bahm, a partner at the city's planning consulting firm Giffels Webster, provided more insight to council.

"If you wanted to make some improvements to the Imagination Station and you had a plan for that and were willing to match up some money for that, you could apply for a grant to the state of Michigan," she said.

"There are always matching funds programs. You get more points with the more money you're willing to match. Then there's a bunch of criteria the DNR uses depending on the program you would make an application to, whether your project aligns with the state's goals for those particular pots of money."

Brighton's Recreation Plan is now added to the city's Master Plan for the public to view at the link below.