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Bedford Council accepts $50,000 Archibald Foundation gift for skateboard-park design and match funding
Summary
The Bedford Town Council unanimously accepted a $50,000 donation from the Archibald Foundation for continued design, maintenance and reconstruction work at the town skateboard park and discussed using the gift toward a required 50% match for a proposed $800,000 state grant application.
The Bedford Town Council voted unanimously May 21 to accept a $50,000 donation from the Archibald Foundation, authorizing the funds for design, maintenance and reconstruction work at the town skateboard park.
The council accepted the donation under RSA 31:95-b and authorized expenditure of the gift during a public hearing on unanticipated revenue. Councilor Scranton moved the measure and Councilor Catherine Bemis seconded; the motion passed 6-0.
The donation increases total private contributions for the project to about $100,000, town staff said during the hearing. Doug Irvine, the town assessor, and other councilors noted earlier work on designs and cost estimates that were presented last fall. Councilors discussed next steps including a planned grant application to the state for up to $800,000 that would require a 50% local match.
Councilor Michael Strand summarized the funding status during the meeting: if the council accepts the $50,000, those dollars — together with the $50,000 accepted last year and other donations and eligible expenditures made within the past three years — can be applied toward the town's $400,000 share of the match. The council repeatedly thanked Friends of the Skateboard Park volunteers and the Archibald Foundation for the donations.
The town manager said the council will pre-authorize submission of the state grant application at a future meeting so the friends group can file the application. That authorization must appear on a posted agenda for public action, the manager noted.
The council did not take final action on the larger $800,000 state grant at the May 21 meeting; it agreed only to accept the $50,000 donation and to place a grant-authorization item on a future agenda so the council can consider formally pre-authorizing an application and any required match funding.
