(6/25) With input from the Parks & Recreation Commission, town staff and residents, the Mayor and Town Council decided on three potential projects to submit to Program Open Space for grant funding, totaling $43,500.
Program Open Space funds open space projects through grants that Frederick County receives from the State of Maryland. Frederick County splits the grant 50-50 with the municipalities. They keep half and then split the other half amongst the municipalities for new equipment, to maintain parks or to buy new park land area.
Frederick County implements a 90/10 match requirement for these grants. If fully funded, the Town’s match will be $4,350.
This year’s potential projects will be: a new pavilion, tables and grills at Carroll Street Park, a new scoreboard for the new East End Park softball field and solar lighting for Eyler Road Park walkway. Mayor John Kinnaird stressed the importance of selecting projects that will benefit the largest amount of residents. "I like these three items," he said. "These are three items that certainly are something that’ll make a big difference to the people who use our parks."
The new pavilion planned at Carroll Street Park will be a large pavilion, similar to the one in the skate park. It is planned to have two tables. The entire project is estimated to cost $10,000. According to Ross Lillard, resident member of the Parks & Recreation Commission, this project came about based on citizen input from the area.
The new scoreboard in East End Park’s softball field is estimated to cost $7,500. The solar lighting for the Eyler Road Park walkway has two options and estimates: $13,000 for the front loop only and $26,000 for the entire loop.
However, there could be an issue funding all three projects this year. "This year, there’s been a dramatic drop in the availability of Program Open Space funding," Kinnaird said. While he wasn’t sure of the exact percentage lost, Town Manager Jim Humerick said that it was a "significant" drop. Kinnaird went on to explain that there may be as little as $350,000 for all municipalities in Frederick County to share.
Because of the decrease in funding, Kinniard warned those in attendance at the meeting that they may not receive funding for all three projects. He said that if there isn’t enough funding, they may need to push back the solar lighting in Eyler Road Park.
Lillard said that the Parks & Recreation Commission considered adding a parking lot to Eyler Road Park to the list of potential projects, but changed their minds when the estimates came back "well over" $200,000. "We didn’t think we’d have a chance at getting that this time around," he said. Lillard went on to ask for any suggestions for funding, saying that it’s been several years that the Commission has been trying to improve the parking situation at Eyler Road Park.
