Park District applies for grant

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – There will soon be a new park in Muskingum County.

The Muskingum Valley Park District has applied for a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant to develop the Westview Community Park. Executive Director Russell Edgington said while they have been raising money to develop the park on the old Westview Elementary school lot, the grant would allow for quicker completion of the project.

“We actually have about $180,000 of funds that have been raised by donations through the community that we can put towards the development but we’ve chosen to wait because if we can get that extra money, we’ll be able to really develop a nice facility,” said Edgington.

Edgington said whether or not they receive the grant, the first phase of construction on the park will begin in early spring. He said that while they hope to complete the project by the end of 2019, the space is really a park already.

“Quite often you’ll see folks out here flying kites, playing pick-up games of football and soccer and things like that, so it’s truly being used as a park right now,” said Edgington.

Edgington said they applied for the grant in November and are hoping to hear back by late winter if they were chosen to receive the money.