City seeks permission to pursue Wisconsin DNR stewardship grant for Riverside Park improvements

City staff told the Two Rivers City Council April 21 they intend to apply for a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources stewardship grant to support planned improvements at Riverside Park and asked council to authorize the application.

“Right now, I just need approval to pursue the grant. I have a deadline on May 1 to make that happen,” a staff member told the council, explaining the city could pursue different scales of funding depending on how much the city budgeted and how large a project the council wanted to pursue. Staff said the grant would support implementation steps from the park master plan but that the city would finalize scope and match amounts after further budget work.

Why it matters: stewardship grants can fund park development and acquisition projects that would otherwise be difficult to budget from municipal operating funds. Staff told council there are multiple possible scales for the Riverside Park work and that staff would return with final budget and project scope once the city determines how much local match it is willing to commit.

What the council did: staff requested authority to pursue the grant by the May 1 deadline. The transcript records that the item was placed on the agenda (noted for information); there is no recorded final vote or formal award decision on the grant application in the provided excerpt.

Next steps: staff will continue budget work to determine city match levels and report back; if council approves an application, staff will submit the stewardship grant by the DNR deadline and return with a recommended budget and project scope.