Four Lodi park sites picked for state grant funds

The Lodi Parks and Recreation Commission approved four project proposal sites for the Proposition 68 General Per Capita program project ranking for grants during Tuesday night’s commission meeting held at Carnegie Forum.

The General Per Capita program is an extension of Proposition 68, which was approved by California voters in June 2018, and authorized the state to borrow $4.1 billion for investments in cleaning up dilapidated parks, improving water projects, upgrading flood protection and protecting scenic open spaces

The GCP program would grant $185 million to local governments for park rehabilitation, creation and improvement on a per capita basis. The minimum funding allocation available for a city through the GCP is $200,000.

“I was able to get a grant officer on the phone the other day and she could not confirm the maximum amount that will be awarded, but we have an idea that it might be around $400,000,” Lodi Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Interim Director Cathi DeGroot said.

DeGroot said parks staff is expected to get a minimum of $200,000 and has compiled a list of projects that meet the stipulations outlined by the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

“If we get funding in the $200,000 to $400,000 range, we wanted the commission to know these are the project that we have determined are our top priority projects,” DeGroot said.

The projects proposed by PRCS are: Blakely park north pool renovations, which would cost $120,000 to repair; Legion Park Community Building renovations, which would cost $100,000; Legion Park playground replacement which would cost $300,000; and Hale Park community building renovations and playground replacement, which would cost $200,000 to $400,000.

Cities that receive GCP funding can use their grant monies to fund multiple projects, depending on project costs, according to DeGroot. Cities that receive funding must be able to match the project funding by 20% unless the project is located in a severely disadvantaged community.

The state has determined the criteria for severely disadvantaged communities, as a neighborhood within a half-mile radius of a park located in a neighborhood where the median annual household income is 60% less than the statewide average.

According to DeGroot, all the proposed sites would not meet severely disadvantage community threshold with the exception of the Hale Park project where the median household income is $35,200. DeGroot said the California State Parks site has a per capita match calculator, which shows a park location and the average income of the neighborhood.

“Where will the 20% funding match come from for parks that do not meet the severely disadvantaged community criteria?” Parks and Recreation Commission Chair Bill Mitchell asked.

DeGroot said PRCS has a capital improvement fund that would be for the funding match required for the grant.

Parks commissioners Bret Erickson asked DeGroot if the GCP grant would be offered annually or if the funding allocation was a one-time-use grant for cities throughout California.

“We have not received any information about per capita being a one-time-use grant or a continuous cycle grant,” DeGroot said.

Once the state disseminates the funds, PRCS will determine what projects they will be able to fund based on the project proposal rankings.

“As of now, we don’t know how much we are getting but we know we will get at least $200,000,” DeGroot said.