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US Fish and Wildlife offers $8,000 reimbursement for Giles Park barn restoration in Pryor Creek
Summary
At a July 14 Pryor Creek meeting, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service described a cost-share grant that would reimburse $8,000 toward restoring a 100-year-old barn at the Giles Park outdoor-classroom site. The city must front project costs and sign a 10-year maintenance agreement for the site.
Justin Westover, a representative of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife program, told Pryor Creek officials on July 14 that the agency proposes reimbursing the city $8,000 toward refurbishing a roughly 100-year-old barn at the Giles Park outdoor-classroom project.
The proposal would operate as a cost-share: the project budget is estimated at about $16,000, with the city or its partners required to pay costs up front and the Fish and Wildlife Service reimbursing the agreed $8,000 after the work is complete. "Everything has to be paid upfront and we reimburse the agreed funds," Westover said during the presentation.
City officials and local partners pressed for details about who must sign the agreement and how the local match could be met. Westover said the federal agreement is with the landowner, and the landowner for the Giles Park property is the city of Pryor Creek. He said the city may meet its $8,000 match with in-kind contributions such as staff time, equipment, volunteer labor or supplies. "It can be from other partners. So Jamie's time, my time, anything that we put in can also count towards that $8,000 match," Westover said.
Jerry Fleming of the Grand River Dam Authority asked whether GRDA work could count as in-kind match; Westover confirmed partners' time and materials can qualify. City officials also discussed options for how the EDTA or other city-related entities might front the cash and be reimbursed by the city later, and Westover said the landowner agreement can be structured to permit that approach if the city chooses.
The Fish and Wildlife representative said the agency typically expects a 50% cost share for projects of this type and that some program deadlines apply: the current funds must be allocated for projects completed by the end of calendar year 2026. Westover also described a separate 10-year maintenance provision tied to the project, saying the facility would be subject to a 10-year maintenance agreement limiting major changes to the barn and surrounding area.
City members asked whether a formal engineer estimate existed; Westover said no contractor estimate had been completed and that initial dollar figures represent typical program assumptions. He described the presentation as discovery and requested that city staff prepare a project packet for city council that would include scope and any contractor estimates; the committee said it would follow up by obtaining a structural inspection and pricing before approving funding.
Officials discussed next steps: confirming ownership and procurement routes, assembling a funding packet with engineering costs and scope, and presenting that packet to the city council. Westover said the Fish and Wildlife funds would be reimbursed after completion of work and that the agency cannot guarantee funds will be held indefinitely unless an agreement is signed. The city indicated it would coordinate with partners and the mayor to determine whether it can front the local share and how in-kind contributions might be documented.
The presentation did not include a formal vote by the EDTA; city staff said the next step is to assemble an engineering estimate and bring a funding packet to the city council for action.
