Platte County commissioners approved the 2021 Platte County Parks and Recreation Outreach grants at the Monday, March 15 meeting.
Director of parks and rec Daniel Erickson presented the list of awards at the meeting, held at the Platte County Resource Center. Erickson said 16 grant applications for 15 organizations were received, with 14 recommended for approval, totaling approximately $183,000.
Grants will be offered to the City of Camden Point, $6,315, city park signage; City of Parkville, $26,000, playground renovations; City of Riverside, $30,000, Line Creek Trail connector; Friends of Parkville Nature Sanctuary, $4,630, wayside signage; North Platte School District, $13,627, high school gym scoreboard; Platte County Youth Football League, $14,400 and $20,324, football and soccer goalposts and bleachers; Southern Platte County Athletic Association, $15,038, softball complex upgrade; The Farmers House, $15,263, orchard and cutting garden; City of Edgerton, $5,183, garden and picnic area improvements; City of Platte City, $8,664, picnic tables, trash cans, benches; Platte Land Trust, $750, beehive box installation; Platte County Historical Society, $14,990, Ben Ferrel Museum restoration; Weston Historical Museum, $7,500, state bicentennial and virtual upgrades.
Fewer grant applications than usual were submitted this year, which Erickson attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, predicting next year’s applications would be back on track. Additionally, as $200,000 is allotted for the grant program, the county has close to $20,000 reserved for additional funding throughout the year, should projects come up.
Also at the meeting, during a presentation of various public safety grants, commissioners discussed a dangerous stretch of roadway in Platte County – Highway 45 near the Spur. Several fatality crashes have occurred in that general area over the past several years, spurring second district commissioner Joe Vanover to question the causes. Major Erik Holland said speed was a contributing factor in many of the accidents.