By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
With the need for housing and an aging pool in mind, the City of Decatur is seeking a grant from a new initiative offered by a state agency.
Indiana Community Development Projects, Inc. (ICDP) has announced the Community Parks Initiative (CPI).
“The aim of this new initiative is to help invited cities and towns in Indiana enhance local park systems across Indiana through the development and implementation of community-driven plans to improve quality of life, place, and connection,” the ICDP said in a news release.
The agency has allocated nearly $400 million in grant funding from Lilly Endowment for the two-phase, multi-year initiative providing funding for noncompetitive planning grants and competitive implementation grants.
Decatur is the only community in Adams County invited to apply for the Community Parks Initiative.
As such, it is eligible for the first phase which, for Decatur, is seeking $100,000 to conduct planning activities, specifically for a riverfront housing project as well funding for the city pool.
If the city receives the planning grant – a decision which should be known by the end of the year – it will be eligible for phase 2 of the initiative, an implementation grant.
It would then apply next August for up to $2.75 million.
“This is a great thing and we need to go after it,” Mayor Dan Rickord said at the latest city council meeting.
The current park/rec department survey is said to be “a very important piece to this grant.”
The survey seeks community input as the department is getting ready to put together a five-year plan.
The department is asking everyone in Decatur and Adams County to complete the survey: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/
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