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Selectmen authorize First Selectman to accept up to $300,000 STEAP grant for inclusive Waveny Park playground
Summary
The board authorized First Selectman Deanna Carlson to accept a potential 2025 STEAP grant of $300,000 to support an all-abilities playground at Waveny Park; the total project budget listed by presenters is $775,000 with town match and anticipated private funds.
The New Canaan Board of Selectmen on March 4 voted unanimously to authorize the First Selectman to accept, if awarded, a 2025 Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant of $300,000 to help construct an all-abilities playground at Waveny Park.
The grant writer who presented the resolution said the total project budget is $775,000 and the town is committing $325,000 in local funds that have already been authorized. Presenters told the board they had indicated in the state's application that the Friends of Waveny playground group expects to raise $150,000 in private donations; the project could proceed without those private funds but would not move forward without the STEAP grant, the presenter said.
"The small town economic assistance program ... favors shovel-ready projects, projects where the match is larger than required and projects that support children and families," the presenter said, adding that Waveny fits those priorities. He described the proposal as an all-abilities playground with poured-in-place surfacing to make the site accessible to wheelchairs and strollers.
Board members discussed the project's changed scope and cost since an earlier approval. At a prior approval the combined fitness area and playground had been estimated at approximately $455,000; presenters said the fitness area has been completed and cost about $117,000, leaving roughly $370,000 in remaining town funds. The present proposal lists a higher total cost driven largely by inclusive surfacing, added fencing and updated equipment. The presenter and others emphasized that a larger, more inclusive playground will increase replacement and long-term maintenance obligations for the town.
Selectmen asked whether the project could be downscaled if the grant is not awarded. Presenters said the proposal could be reduced in scale or the private fundraising group could raise additional funds; without the STEAP award the project would likely be delayed or redesigned.
A motion authorizing First Selectman Deanna Carlson to accept a 2025 STEAP grant in the amount of $300,000 and to execute necessary agreements carried unanimously.
