Commissioners gave final approval to the 2020 Platte County Parks and Recreation Outreach Grants this week.
At the meeting held Monday, April 19 at the Platte County Resource Center in Kansas City, 14 grants were approved, at about $183,000 in total. The county budgeted $250,000 for the program for 2021, but applications were light due to the pandemic.
Grants were approved for the City of Camden Point, $6,315, city park signage; City of Parkville, $26,000, playground renovations; City of Riverside, $30,000, Line Creek Trail connector; Friends of Parkville Nature Sanctuary, $4,630, wayside signage; North Platte School District, $13,627, high school gym scoreboard; Platte County Youth Football League, $14,400 and $20,324, football and soccer goalposts and bleachers; Southern Platte County Athletic Association, $15,038, softball complex upgrade; The Farmers House, $15,263, orchard and cutting garden; City of Edgerton, $5,183, garden and picnic area improvements; City of Platte City, $8,664, picnic tables, trash cans, benches; Platte Land Trust, $750, beehive box installation; Platte County Historical Society, $14,990, Ben Ferrel Museum restoration; Weston Historical Museum, $7,500, state bicentennial and virtual upgrades.
A 2020 grant to The Farmers House for $5,700 was also approved, after the applications fell through the administrative cracks last year. The project has already been completed.
Also at the meeting, commissioners proclaimed May 15 as Law Enforcement Memorial Day and that week as the same. Nationwide, in 2020, 360 officers died. Though the bulk were COVID-related, others died from gunshot wounds, complications related to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and by other means.
Although no Platte County officers died in 2020, officials reported eight assaults on law enforcement in the sheriff’s office.
The associated annual law enforcement appreciation event in Parkville will again be canceled this year due to the pandemic.
The county was also forced to reject all bids for repair work on the Brightwell Road culvert when costs came in at more than twice the engineer’s estimate.
Director of public works Bob Heim noted this seems to be a widespread problem and the county plans to look into options to reduce the project costs or create a more attractive bid package.