Mountain Home council members officially gave their blessing Thursday night for the city to apply for a grant to help build an all-access playground. Council members voted 8-0 in favor of the city applying for the grant, which is being written by the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District on behalf of the city.
The grant is through the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism and can be worth up to $250,000 in state funds, with the requirement that the city up a matching amount of money through its own funds, in-kind labor or a combination of both.
If approved, the city would use the grant money to purchase equipment for an all-access playground at Hickory Park. The new equipment would allow children of all abilities to play at the park.
This is the second time that the city has applied for this particular Arkansas Parks grant. In 2019, it was awarded $96,500 to make improvements to Clysta Willet Park.
The amount of money awarded to cities through the grant program is determined by the state once applications are submitted.
Mayor Hillrey Adams explains the city’s hopes for the grant.
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In March, Mountain Home voters approved two sales tax proposals to renovate the city’s park system and build a community center/aquatic facility. Offering an all-access playground was one of the items included in that master list of planned improvements.
Those sales-tax proposals will go into effect in July, and the city will begin receiving revenue from them in September.
Adams talks about the benefit of combining grant money and sales tax revenue on the playground project.
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The city held an informational meeting earlier this month to reveal conceptual drawings of the playground and answer any questions residents might have about the project.
Drawings rendered by ETC Engineers and Architects of Little Rock handed out at that meeting indicate the all-access playground would be built to the west of the Hickory Park park tennis courts. The playground project would also new restrooms to replace the park’s current facilities, which were built in 1955.
Future plans for the park include adding a parking lot accessible from Dyer Street to the north of the all-access playground and renovating the park’s existing baseball field into an all-access baseball diamond.
The deadline to apply for the Arkansas Parks grant is Aug. 27. If the city’s application is well received, officials may be invited to make a presentation to the Arkansas Parks committee overseeing the grant applications. The city would most likely learn if it was being awarded a grant in December.
If the city was awarded the grant in December, Mountain Home Parks Director Billy D. Austin says he believes the work at Hickory Park could begin in January.
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