Category Overview
Local Parks grants help protect these symbols of vibrant communities, providing places for families to gather and play and promoting a healthy and active lifestyle in an era when people spend increasing amounts of their time inside. The WWRP is the largest source of local parks funding in Washington, helping communities fund the acquisition, development, and renovation of vital recreation areas and green spaces.
Project Highlights
Othello will use this grant to develop a Spray Park, Lighting, and Walking Trails at Kiwanis Park — one of only two active parks in our community of 8,549 residents. Our overall project goal is to design and install appealing, safe, and ADA-compliant amenities that will make this park, known for its family-oriented, informal recreation, more useable now and into the future for multigenerational community members. The new spray park will be free of charge, designed primarily for children 12 and younger. It will be a welcome “cooling center” during Othello’s hot summer months. Installing park-wide lighting will enhance security and address the significant graffiti problem in a park with many trees and dark areas. Lighting will also extend the useable hours for all park activities and facilities. The existing walking trails have deteriorated since they were built in the 1970’s and are no longer ADA-accessible or even very useful for anyone pushing a stroller or riding a bike. These trails will be ground down and resurfaced to restore connections that tie together all park areas with accessible, safe pathways that encourage healthy activity and mobility for users of all ages and abilities. This project meets our residents’ strong interest in free, safe, healthy, youth-centric activities for this underserved community, where youth under 18 years of age comprise 39% of the population, the poverty rate is 27%, and 88% of students qualify for Free and Reduced Lunch.