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Carbondale misses Land and Water Conservation Fund award; staff to consider reapplication and alternative funding
Summary
A Town grant application to the Land and Water Conservation Fund was not funded; reviewers cited maintenance and use‑type justifications as weaknesses. Staff said they will consider reapplying and will pursue other grant sources and infrastructure sequencing while advancing design work.
Carbondale staff told the Parks and Recreation Commission that the town’s application to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was not selected in the current cycle, and they described reviewers’ feedback and next steps.
Why it matters: LWCF awards can cover large shares of park construction costs; the project team said the fund’s one‑to‑one match requirement and the program’s size (the application staff described as being roughly a million dollars) made the award materially important to completing the park master plan vision.
What staff reported
Staff said the LWCF application (submitted in the town’s recent grant cycle) received strong reviewer comments on public outreach and the park’s conversion from private to public land, but reviewers flagged two main weaknesses: insufficient detail on long‑term maintenance funding and an unclear balance between traditional outdoor recreation uses and community event uses.
Staff said the LWCF reviewers supplied the scoring matrix and application comments; commissioners discussed the chance to reapply with clarified maintenance plans and a stronger case around how recreational programming (for example, rec‑center classes or outdoor Tai Chi) could raise the application score.
Design and infrastructure sequencing
Commission staff also reviewed the project team and budget for the 2025 design‑to‑construction phase; the consultant team assembled by the landscape designer (named in materials as RD1 and Nicholas DeFrank leading the team) will advance documents through construction. Staff noted the town will underground overhead power lines in the park with Xcel as an early infrastructure step; a town reserve/slush fund will contribute to the undergrounding, and staff are still confirming detailed costs.
Staff emphasized sequencing options developed in the master plan: if a major grant is not secured, the town can break the project into phases so work such as power undergrounding and other external infrastructure can proceed without “breaking ground” on park‑specific elements that depend on larger grants.
Next steps
Staff said they will discuss reviewer feedback with LWCF program staff about the possibility of reapplying next year and will pursue other funding sources, including GOCO and additional foundations. The commission will receive updated design documents and grant status as those processes advance.
