Phoenix neighborhood groups can soon apply for park event funds

Do you want to host a movie series in your neighborhood park? How about a resource fair, a sporting event, a holiday celebration, or a community cleanup?

Soon, Phoenix neighborhood groups will be able to apply for city funding to host events like these at community parks. The use of federal funds – $500,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act – has been approved for Phoenix’s new park activation grant program.

Because ARPA funding is intended to help communities that have been most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the events must be held in a park that’s located in, adjacent to or serves a qualified census tract, which means at least 50% of the households have an income of less than 60% of the median household income for the region.

“I can imagine runs, walks, basketball tournaments, swimming meets,” said Councilmember Carlos Garcia, who represents District 8. “I actually think it’s wide open, from sporting, to cultural, to celebrating a certain day.”

When the city begins accepting applications, neighborhood associations registered with Phoenix’s Neighborhood Services Department will be able to apply for up to $10,000 to host a free event or series of events.

Typically, free park events are funded through partnerships with nonprofits, neighborhood associations, and businesses, said Cynthia Aguilar, the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department

director. The parks department also has a budget to facilitate activities at parks that don’t have a recreation center, Aguilar said.

Garcia’s office has financially supported around a dozen community-organized park events in District 8 over the past year. These events can serve as a way to address concerns that some residents may have about their parks, Garcia said.

“There’s things that some folks don’t like at the parks. People might be hanging out there,” Garcia said. “We can’t police every park. We just don’t have the resources. So what we leaned towards was, we need to activate parks.”

Events within city parks are also a good time to survey residents on what

improvements they’d like to see there, Garcia said. At an event last spring at Circle K Park, hosted by the Sagrado Galleria in partnership with Garcia’s office, community members began to rally around revitalizing the park, which residents said had a lack of investment from the city. There is now $2.5 million set aside for Circle K Park improvements.

City funding for park events “would definitely take away the financial stress as far as putting together a program, especially when you want to entertain the public and your community,” said Dana

Burns, a community leader in south Phoenix.

She hosted a free community event, “Christmas in the Park,” in Esteban Park in December.

The event – which Burns said was attended by around 300 people – had food trucks, a bounce house, discounted wigs and lashes provided by a local salon, basketball games, a DJ, community resources, a muralist and free toys, books and Christmas hams.

“This was amazing for Esteban Park because we hadn’t really done anything to activate our park,” Burns said. She secured sponsors for the event, and District 8 helped with some of the costs. But she ultimately spent around $2,500 out-of-pocket to make the event happen, she said.

Burns hopes to continue to activate Esteban Park throughout the year, especially ahead of the November 2023 vote on the Phoenix general obligation bond program, which would set aside around $4.5 million to build a new recreation center at the park.

Her plans include hosting a local band showcase, a community barbecue cook-off, and an event highlighting local gospel artists and radio stations.

Application to open this summer

The parks department is currently working to hire a grant program administrator. They are planning to begin accepting grant applications in the summer.

Under the planned timeline, awardees will be selected in October and funds will be disbursed in November. Neighborhood associations will have until November 2024 to use the funds.

The city will provide a check upfront rather than a reimbursement, so the neighborhood association doesn’t have to front any money.

The $500,000 in ARPA funding has to be used by December 2024. But if the program is successful, the parks department will seek alternate funding from the city or from a sponsor to continue it, said Aguilar.