Memorandum 10-55 Grant Application for Karen Hornaday Park

MEMORANDUM 10-55

To: Mayor and Council
Through: Walt Wrede, City Manager
From: Anne Marie Holen
Date: March 25, 2010
Subject: Land and Water Conservation Fund grant application for Karen Hornaday Park

This memo is intended to provide backup information for the proposed resolution supporting an application for a Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant for improvements to Karen Hornaday Park.
LWCF is a federal grant program administered through the Alaska Department of Natural Resources. It is the same grant program that funded much of the work in Jack Gist Park.

The good news about LWCF is that the proposed Karen Hornaday Park project is a perfect fit for the grant program. “High priority” areas for grant funding are community parks and playgrounds; trails and trailheads; rehabilitation, upgrade, or expansion of existing facilities; and campgrounds.

The daunting part of the application is that it requires a 50% non-federal match (meaning 50% of total project costs).
The minimum LWCF grant award is $100,000; maximum is $500,000. Since Phase 1 improvements to Karen Hornaday Park have been estimated to cost $3.1 million, it makes sense to apply for the maximum LWCF grant to accomplish as much of the Phase 1 work as possible. However, a $500,000 grant request means we must show a $500,000 match (can be cash and/or in-kind).
In our current state legislative request, the City of Homer is asking for $400,000 for Karen Hornaday Park. Since this is non-federal money, it would count as match.

It appears that Friends of Karen Hornaday Park and Homer Little League will be able to contribute approximately $15,000 in match funds, bringing the total match raised to $415,000 (assuming the $400,000 legislative appropriation is approved).
The remaining $85,000 is where the City’s contribution comes in. $75,000 in cash equals 15% of the grant amount or 7.5% of the total project cost (assuming a $1 million project). An in-kind contribution in the form of Public Works’ time and equipment (with a value of at least $10,000) would put us over the top in meeting the match requirement. Raising more than $100,000 locally will mean being able to accomplish more work at the park.

LWCF grant applications are due April 30. I am actively working with Carey Meyer, Julie Engebretsen, Angie Otteson, Mike Illg, and Jack Wiles (of Friends of Karen Hornaday Park) on the application. I have been very impressed with the level of support for Karen Hornaday Park in this community. I was able to include more than 20 letters of support for our legislative request without any effort on my part. That support will also help us with the LWCF application.