On Thursday, the office of Governor J.B Pritzker announced more than $63 million dollars worth of OSLAD Grants had been awarded across the state. OSLAD or Open Space Land and Development Grants are awarded specifically for Parks and Recreation projects and have been awarded by the state since 1986. This year, the City of Kewanee is among the beneficiaries of an OSLAD Grant. The City received a $600,000 dollar OSLAD Grant. RegionalMediaNews.com reached out to Kewanee City Manager Gary Bradley to elaborate on what the grant would specifically be used for in Kewanee…
“This grant is for improvements to Francis Park.
These are the projects that will be funded by the grant:
• Convert 60 campground spaces from 20 and 30 amp to 50 amp connections and install new water lines to each campsite.
• Replace a picnic pavilion and construct a picnic shelter and add 10 ADA accessible picnic tables
• Remove and replace 1960s play equipment with modern safe equipment and playground surface
• Improve a 4,000 linear feet of trail system including adding an asphalt surface 8 feet wide with 2 feet turf shoulders on each side to make that funded portion ADA accessible”
In the grant announcement, the Governor’s Office stated that Kewanee was among a group of Cities designated as Economically Distressed Communities. This designation means that Kewanee received full funding from the state for its planned project by meeting specific economic guidelines as Gary Bradley explains:
“The phrase “Economically Distressed Community” is actually defined by law. It means we are eligible to receive grant funding without a match requirement.
Ill. Admin. Code tit. 17, § 3025.36 – Distressed Communities Definition and Criteria:
a) An economically distressed community is an eligible local unit of government located within a Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) with a per capita equalized assessed valuation (EAV) less than 60% of the State average and more than 15% of the population below the national poverty level and not containing a major University in the community and has received less than the determined fair share of OSLAD assistance; or an eligible unit of local government located outside an SMSA with an EAV less than 50% of the State average and more than 20% of its population below the poverty level and not containing a major University in the community and has received less than the determined fair share of OSLAD assistance.
b) The Department will determine which communities are considered economically distressed based on calculations using the most current published Illinois Census data and Illinois Department of Revenue information. The Department reserves the final determination on whether an applicant meets the definition of an economically distressed community. For a local political subdivision to be considered eligible under a community’s distressed qualification, that subdivision must lie entirely within the boundaries of the distressed community.”
The Kewanee City Manager went on to say:n
“We provided a match as part of our application because it still helps, but it was significantly smaller than the normal. In a typical year, the OSLAD would pay for 50% of a project up to $400,000. So in this instance, the $636,734 estimated project costs would have cost us $318,367 instead of $36,734. That savings of $281.633 is important because it allows us to make improvements to the park and carry out other projects instead of having to decide between one thing or another (or a few others).”
