NICE ? Support from the community is being sought in an effort to obtain a grant for recreational enhancements at Hammond Park in Nice. The County of Lake is seeking a Prop. 84 grant and others that will help create a skatepark at the northshore facility.
According to Kim Clymire, county public services department director, the desire for a skatepark was identified in a survey that reached adults as well as youth of the community. A skatepark has been incorporated into the Master Plan guiding the development of the 12-acre park, Clymire said.
Along with Prop. 84 funds, the county is also seeking a grant from the Watershed Stewardship Council. “We get as many irons in the fire for grants and hopefully one of them will heat up,” Clymire said. “Letters of support are what we need now for the application. We will use those as back up for the grant application. That”s what the grant-readers look at: community involvement.”
According to Clymire, a desire for a skatepark has also been identified in the Kelseyville area. He said it is important that the county avoid competing with itself as the grant selection is very competitive. “We need to target and decide which site we want to be submitting an application for. At this time I would say Hammond because it”s a bigger site and it”s part of the Master Plan.”
Clymire said that Hammond Park has been going through improvements throughout the past five years. Playground equipment and the underground irrigation system have been installed. He said the first priority at the moment is constructing a restroom at the site, which is primary purpose for seeking the watershed grant. “What I want to try to do is fully fund (this project) through a grant. If the grant requires a match I would use my staff as part of the soft match (in house labor and tasks),” he said.
Clymire said that volunteer labor from community contractors and construction providers could also count toward matching fund requirements.
Jules Enger has volunteered his time to take the lead in soliciting support from the community. “We are looking for community input and letters of recommendation for obtaining grants. They only give out a handful of these grants. So, what Kim needs is the community to show their spirit and support,” he said. “If the grant application is approved for Hammond Park then that will give us an opportunity to not only build a skatepark but other amenities that will build the community in the long run, not just the short term.”
Unger said he believes amenities such as a skatepark will help stimulate local economy by creating a recreational destination. He said Upper Lake, Nice and Lucerne often get bypassed by tourists unless the visitors are bass fishermen or casino patrons.
“We want to bring an element to the traveling community that they haven”t seen on that side of the lake. Once you put something like this in, it will stimulate local economy and encourage people to travel to different areas,” he said. “There are nice places to stay and nice places to eat. But, there is a lack of recreational opportunities unless you are in that certain group. Not everybody enjoys going to the casino or fishing. This will help the people that have children of all ages, from five to 16 or even 18, determine where they want to stay that is sort of off the beaten path.”
Unger continued, “People come back to the area but they don”t always want to do the same things. There is a great opportunity for things for a community as a whole and the skatepark is one of them.”
Unger said that they are also looking into applying for a grant from the Tony Hawk Foundation, which provides assistance to underserved communities for construction of new skatepark facilities.
“This is a grassroots campaign but we haven”t even grown the grass yet,” Unger said. “The public outreach is probably the biggest hurdle we have right now. We need to convey the community”s interest and support. It is crucial to obtaining funding from Prop. 84 and the Tony Hawk Foundation.”
Clymire said that community correspondence significantly contributed to the county”s recent acquisition of Mt. Konocti. He said he is still seeking additional letters of support for obtaining grants to build trail systems and other amenities on the mountain.
Letters of support regarding either effort may be sent to Lake County Public Services Department, Attention Kim Clymire, 333 Second Street, Lakeport, CA 95453.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com or call her directly at 994-6444, ext. 11.
