Title
Park Activation Neighborhood Grant Program Update
Description
This report provides the Community and Cultural Investment Subcommittee information about the Parks and Recreation Department's Park Activation Neighborhood Grant Program.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.
Report
Summary
The Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department builds healthy communities through parks, programs and partnerships; and makes the City a better place to live, visit and play. Using the “Power of Parks,” the department promotes health, wellness, conservation and social equity by providing the community with opportunities to improve quality of life through access to local parks, recreation and cultural facilities, sports programming, and open spaces.
The Phoenix area has experienced significant growth over the last decade, and the demand for activated parks and more structured recreational opportunities has increased. Active parks play a vital role in meeting the growing recreational needs of the community while helping to deter negative activity in parks. Some Phoenix parks and facilities, however, have experienced significant challenges associated with illegal or negative behaviors. These behaviors include, but are not limited to: drug use, theft, trespassing, vandalized and damaged park property and equipment, excessive littering and debris, and misuse of park amenities. Many of these behaviors can be disruptive and pose health and safety risks to the surrounding community. They can also cause damage requiring costly repairs or complete reengineering of park amenities.
As a part of efforts to address these challenges, the Parks and Recreation Department has sought to activate park spaces to encourage positive behaviors and uses. These efforts include, but are not limited to: purposeful capital investments in desired amenities and activation through outdoor youth and adult sports programs, special events, FitPHX programming, targeted park activation programming, Mobile Recreation programming, and programming from partner organizations such as ParkRx. Recognizing the importance of further activating parks, the department continues to maintain and seek new partnerships to assist with these efforts.
Among these efforts is the creation of a new Park Activation Neighborhood Grant Program utilizing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. During the April 19, 2023, Formal Council Meeting, the Phoenix City Council approved the use of $500,000 in ARPA funding to develop a grant program to facilitate park activation events and programming in parks serving qualified census tracts and populations. This will provide additional opportunities for park activation in communities most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Grant applications will be open to neighborhood groups listed with the Neighborhood Services Department and local non-profits seeking to activate qualifying City parks. Staff anticipate that grant awards through this program will range from a minimum award of $1,000 to a maximum award of $10,000.
The Parks and Recreation Department has created a temporary ARPA-funded position to develop and manage this program. Staff are in the process of recruiting for and filling this position. The grant administrator will develop this new grant program, which will be modeled after the existing neighborhood grant application process currently administered by the Office of Arts and Culture. Based on this existing grant program, it is anticipated that it will take about six months for funds to be disbursed after the application process opens to the public. Staff expect that the application process will open to the public in late summer 2023 and that awards will occur by early 2024, with grant funds being expended and reported by awardees by the end of October 2024.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Inger Erickson and the Parks and Recreation Department.