The city Of Duluth wants to help restore neighborhood parks.
Through a grant program approved by the Duluth City Council last summer, neighborhood groups can apply to receive up to $15,000 from the city to fix up a city park, according to Kathleen Bergen, parks and recreation division manager. The only catch is that groups must raise their own money before asking the city for help.
"If they get $15,000 and we match, $30,000 will get you a fairly nice playground using volunteer labor to put it together," Bergen said.
Groups that can't come up with $15,000 can ask for a smaller match from the city, but each group must agree to contribute at least 58 hours of volunteer labor toward assembling the new playground, Bergen said.
So far, groups have expressed interest in restoring a playground in Morgan Park, Playfront at Bayfront Festival Park and the Morley Heights playground, but none have officially applied for a grant. The city can award up to $75,000 in grants this year.
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Groups interested in applying must be affiliated with a nonprofit entity that can act as its fiscal agent for fundraising purposes. The application deadline is March 1.
Those interested can call the Parks and Recreation office at (218) 370-4309 or go to the department's Web site at www.duluthmn.gov/parks/index.cfm .
