Grant Application To Be Submitted For Kidzville Repairs

Zanesville City Council held their first of two meetings for the month of April on Monday.

An ordinance allowing an application for grant funding through the Land and Water Conservation Fund made an appearance on the agenda. The grant would go toward the replacement of the play structures at Kidzville at Riverside Park. Public Service Director Jay Bennett gave us an overview of the state of the play area.

“You know it was built in the mid 90’s. The city has taken preventative maintenance care of it. Mulched it. Those types of things. Gone out when bolts are bad and replaced things like that. But you can just see some deterioration happening.”

Bennett said the grant would be worth $150,000. Bennett explained the replacement of the new play structures would be a great benefit to the community.

“Go out there any sunny day and even on cloudy ones you see a lot of young young people. Parents with their kids out there enjoying and climbing, jumping, sliding. So it’s just going ahead and investing in the future–small kids of Zanesville that they’ll have a place.”

The ordinance passed as emergency Monday evening. Bennet says the plan going forward is to put together a community group of constituents and even get input from young people on the design. The application will be submitted May 1st and if approved, re-creation will begin in the fall. Bennet asks for help from the community. For every hour of donated labor, $15 will credited toward the grant. Bennett said the full o$150,000 of money would have to be made up in volunteer hours or cash.