Grants aim to bring even more fun to Monmouth parks

The ever-popular Fourth of July Mini-Marathon and Fun Run received grant money from the City of Monmouth in its early days. Photo by Lance Masterson.

Grant funding is available to those who want to bring recreational opportunities to Monmouth residents and their 10 public parks.

Grants are limited to roughly $1,000 per applicant, and no more than $5,000 total for this year’s funding cycle. The $5,000 figure doubles what was available last year in grants. Increased costs related to insurance and other expenditures were cited as reasons for the larger amount.

Intent of the program is to help answer the question, “where is the ‘recreation’ in Monmouth Parks and Recreation,” said Public Works Director Russ Cooper.

“Monmouth has wonderful parks throughout the town, but we don’t provide a formal recreation component. These mini grants offer that opportunity to expand and provide recreational opportunities to our residents,” Cooper added.

These grants also provide the public with more say in what recreational programs are offered locally.

“The goal of the program is to give citizens and organizations the opportunity to have input … and have a little bit of money, seed money, to make it a reality. While providing additional recreational opportunities for the community,” said Mark Medel, chairperson, Parks and Recreation Board.

The city provides venues along with the grants.

“(Grant) applicants anticipate that the recreation opportunity they are proposing will meet a need that doesn’t exist in our community,” Cooper said.

Use of the city’s park system appears to be trending upward.

“The biggest change that I have noticed … is the desire for park space to be available for event space, too,” Cooper said. “This trend has increased the use of our picnic structures, but also the open spaces. There has been an increase in festivals, concerts and large group gatherings, like family reunions.”

The grant program has been around for years. Long enough, in fact, to have provided funds for the city's highly successful Fourth of July Mini-Marathon and Fun Run. An event now organized by the Willamette Valley Road Runners.

“For years and years, the fun run and mini-marathon always got funding. But they’ve recently stopped applying for money because they were like, you know, we’re going to let someone else get the funding because we’re doing fine,” Medel said.

Grants tend to go to programs that are smaller and more intimate in nature. Examples of of this include Chess in the Park along with dance and exercise classes.

The chess series “has grown every year, and is providing an opportunity for dozens of interested folks to come out to the park on a Saturday and participate in something of interest to them," Cooper said. In addition, "most years a successful multi-week exercise or dance in the park program is awarded funds.”

Cooper added, “programs like these are successful because they are meeting a need.”

According to a city release, other programs that might meet needs are painting, cooking and gardening classes, or yoga, Tai Chi and birdwatching.

Fine-tuning of a grant application with city assistance happens on occasion.

“A lot of times people will give us an application and we’re like, okay, that’s an idea. Let’s work with that and figure out how we can make that a little bit better,” Medel said. “Since we’ve been getting new ideas, which, again, I think was the big draw of doing more advertising and trying to get more people into it, we have seen a lot of variety.”

Medel has been a board member for almost 10 years.

Applications are available online at mpw@ci.monmouth.or.us. Deadline for their return is April 3.

Monmouth has 10 public parks that total more than 25 acres of open space and are managed by the Public Works Department.

There are three community parks in Monmouth: Gentle Woods, Madrona and Main Street parks.

Neighborhood parks include Cherry Lane, Monmouth Recreational (home to the skate park) and Winegar parks.

Mini parks include La Mesa, Marr, Southgate and Whitesell parks.