To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Gini Pingenot, Director, Open Spaces
Prepared By:
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Sandy Bottoms, Grants and Acquisitions Administrator, Open Spaces
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presenter
Presenter: Sandy Bottoms, Grants and Acquisitions Administrator, Open Spaces
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Subject:
title
1:00 PM *2027 Open Space Grant Cycle Funding
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
Staff will present recommendations for the 2027 Open Space Grants cycle and request approval by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) for the funding allocation.
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Alignment with Strategic Plan: Good Governance - Understand and respond to community needs, interests, and values.
Background and Discussion: Since 2005, the Open Space grants program has awarded more than $73 million to agencies across the County for park, trail, and open space projects. Those partners leveraged the County funds with $103 million in matching contributions.
Grant categories, funding caps, and application criteria have evolved over time to encourage competitive, high-quality projects and to meet the needs of our partner agencies. Open Spaces staff uses feedback from grantees and recent grant cycle trends to make recommendations for upcoming grant cycles.
Open Spaces staff recommends keeping the total allocation for 2027 grants at $5.5 million and keeping the maximum award amount for small and planning grants at $150,000. However, based on recent grantee comments, the fact that most standard grant recipients in the last few years have requested the maximum amount, inflation, and increasing construction costs, we recommend raising the standard grant maximum from $600,000 to $750,000. This increase is expected to help grantees who continually face higher project costs, and it may reduce the need for some of them to phase certain projects. The maximum grant amounts were last increased in 2023.
Staff would allocate the $5.5 million in total funding for three grant categories:
$4,000,000 for Standard Grants: $150,001 to $750,000, 25% minimum cash match
Up to $750,000 for Small Grants: $1,000 to $150,000, 10% minimum cash match
Up to $750,000 for Planning Grants: $1,000 to $150,000, 10% minimum cash match
Minimum match amounts are calculated based on total project cost. Depending on the application pool, funds may be moved between categories (e.g., unawarded funds from the small and planning grant categories could support additional standard grants).
Grant awards will support Arapahoe County’s funding priorities as detailed in the open space resolution: park, trail, and open space improvements; land acquisition; planning; natural resource restoration; and environmental/cultural education.
Grant Training Workshops: As in years past, we anticipate offering at least one training session for grant applicants in early 2027. Training sessions are required for new applicants and strongly encouraged for new agency staff involved in the grant submittal and administration process. Training materials will be posted on the Open Spaces website for all applicants to reference.
Evaluation of Proposals: In spring 2027, an evaluation team consisting of Open Spaces staff and OSTAB members will review applications, conduct site visits, and rank proposals based on the merits of each project. Considerations include scope, need, urgency, impact, leveraging funds, budget, timeline, partnerships, and the capacity of the applicant to complete and maintain the project. Proposals will be funded in order of rank until allocated funds are exhausted.
In three of the last five years, more funding was allocated than the total grant requests Open Spaces received. This trend was primarily due to some grantees electing to complete existing projects before applying for new grants and/or struggling with staff turnover. In 2027, if we receive requests in excess of $5.5 million that the grant evaluators recommend funding, we have sufficient funds available in the grants fund to enable us to ask the BOCC to increase the total grant allocation to fund the additional projects. Furthermore, based on recent grantee feedback about their future needs, we could recommend setting aside more than $5.5 million for grants in 2028.
Alternatives: Approval, approval with changes, or denial.
Fiscal Impact: Twelve percent of revenue from the Arapahoe County Open Space Sales and Use Tax is dedicated to the grants fund, per the open space resolution. In any given year, more or less than twelve percent may be allocated for grants because the amount is determined in the year before the open space tax revenue is collected. The recommended amount is based on grantee feedback, recent trends, projected revenue for the following tax year, and the current balance of the grants fund. Therefore, it does not necessarily equal twelve percent every year. Assuming the recommended $5.5 million grant allocation is approved, the remaining unencumbered grant fund balance is roughly $3.2 million.
Alignment with Strategic Implementation Strategies: N/A.
Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends that the BOCC approve the proposed funding allocation for the 2027 Open Space Grants Program.
Concurrence: The Open Space and Trails Advisory Board concurred with the staff recommendation at its meeting on August 24, 2026.