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
1:15 PM *2025 Open Space Grant Cycle Funding
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
Staff will present the recommended funding allocation for the 2025 Open Space Grants cycle and seek approval of the funding from the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC).
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Background and Discussion: Since 2005, the Open Space grants program has awarded over $62 million to agencies across the County for park, trail, and open space projects. 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 grantee outreach and recent grant cycle trends to make recommendations for upcoming grant cycles.
Open Spaces staff recommends keeping the total allocation at $5.5 million and keeping maximum award amounts at $600,000 (standard grants) and $150,000 (small and planning grants) for 2025. These amounts were first introduced in 2023 in response to grantee feedback about rising costs. Keeping the total allocation at $5.5 million will ensure we can fund an adequate number of projects while maintaining the higher maximum award amounts.
Staff would allocate the $5.5 million in total funding for three grant categories:
? $4,000,000 for Standard Grants: $150,001 to $600,000, 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 c...
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