WGIL reported last week on the City of Galesburg applying for an Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant to help cover the costs of renovating Lancaster Park.
But there’s a larger city park that’s already been approved for last year’s OSLAD grant and bids are expected to go out in the spring.
Interim City Manager Wayne Carl announced at Monday’s Council meeting that the city is in the process of selecting a design firm.
The scope of H.T.’s renovations include a new walking path that runs the nearly half-mile perimeter of the park.
The area closest to East Fifth St. will see a new bathroom and new shelter, and a new playground.
A little to the west of the playground will be a 350 feet bike training area for kids that are learning to ride.
Behind the baseball field’s backstop, a new parking lot will be added.
And the southernmost point of the park will feature a rain garden/ butterfly waystation.
All these suggestions were brought forth by community members at an open meeting at the park held in August of 2021.
The OSLAD grant will fund 50 percent of the $800,000 project, with the city paying the other half.
There’s some good news/bad news in that when the city applied last year Galesburg was considered a distressed community which would have meant the grant would cover 90 percent of the cost.
But Carl says Galesburg is no longer considered “distressed”, therefore it’s a 50 percent matching grant.