PROVIDENCE — The administration of Governor Dan McKee and the Department of Environmental Management announced the most recent awarding of $2 million in matching grants to 11 municipalities to develop or renovate local outdoor recreational facilities in their communities, including one here in city.

(Updated, corrected 9 a.m., May 1) East Providence will access $200,000 for a new splashpad the Providence Avenue Playground located just off Bullocks Point Avenue behind the former Oldham Elementary School building. The grant application also included using some of the monies towards new fencing and bike racks at the park as well as planting of trees.

Late last year, the City Council formally appropriated COVID-19 federal pandemic relief American Rescue Plan Act funds in the amount of "up to $200,000 for a splash pad at an appropriate location in Riverside," with Providence Avenue Playground being the first option.

Setting aside the match required for the Rec Grant, Ward 4 Councilor Rick Lawson now hopes to reappropriate the majority of that money to the small business incubator/community center he has long envisioned for the Oldham building, which has sat idle for over a decade since the Budget Commission during state oversight of the city's finances closed the building in the early 2010s.

"I am glad we received grant money for the splash pad and can now put the ARPA funds that were allocated towards the Oldham building to get it open for community use," said Lawson. "I am ready to advocate for investing in the Providence Ave playground, ball fields, and Oldham building to elevate the quality of life here in The Riverside.

The “rec grant” program is DEM’s most popular grant program, with applications this grant cycle seeking nearly five times the available funding. The grant awards will fund 11 projects across the state including new playgrounds, pickleball courts, dog park, splashpads, walking trails, revitalized ballfields and basketball courts, shade pavilions, outdoor performance areas, and various site improvements.

It's not the first time East Providence has a received a Rec Grant. In fact, the city also  $400,000 grant two fiscal years ago now, which allowed for the process of renovating the Kent Field Playground move forward. That project actually took hold two weeks ago with the start of construction following a ribbon cutting ceremony held in mid-April.

Since the inception of DEM’s community recreation grant program in 1988, there have been over 568 recreational grants awarded and more than $91 million invested in improvements in all 39 Rhode Island communities. These projects are funded by green bonds, which are submitted to the Rhode Island General Assembly as part of the Governor’s proposed budget, and if included in the enacted budget, put to the voters as a referendum question on the ballot every two years. Historically, these measures pass overwhelmingly, with the 2022 Green Bond approved by Rhode Island voters by almost 70 percent.

“While we celebrate the projects that received grants, this is a highly popular grant program and we acknowledge that not every applicant is able to receive funding,” DEM Director Terry Gray was quoted as saying in a press release announcing the grants.

Gray continued, “DEM is grateful that Governor McKee has proposed a Green Bond in his budget that would include increased funding for these valuable investments in our communities. This funding will help us meet the demand for this very popular program in the future. We encourage communities to keep an eye out for future program announcements and join DEM for grant application workshops and other opportunities to sharpen the descriptions of their terrific projects.”

Applications were evaluated and scored by the Rhode Island Recreation Resources Review Committee, consisting of government and non-profit members using the Open Project Selection Process developed under the 2019 State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP). The grants, which require a community match and range from $60,000 to $400,000, are funded through $50 Million 2022 Green Bond.

The grants are matched by local funding to generate over $ 2.5 million in recreational project improvements throughout Rhode Island. The program offers funding in three categories: small development grants with funding awards up to $100,000, large development grants with awards up to $400,000, and acquisition funds that support property acquisition for permanent outdoor recreation with awards up to $400,000.