Del City council approves TSET grant applications, on‑call engineering contracts and new sanitation trucks; awards emergency sewer work

Del City’s City Council on Jan. 6 voted unanimously to seek two Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) grants for a pickleball court at the Del City Community Center and for free fitness classes at the center, authorized on‑call engineering contracts, approved emergency sewer repairs and cleared purchases of two new residential sanitation trucks.

The council approved resolution No. 01062025 to pledge matching funds for the TSET Innovations in the Built Environment grant and opened and then closed a public hearing on applying for two TSET grants. The council later adopted a finding that applying for the grants is in the city’s interest and directed staff to complete the required public input surveys.

City staff told the council the Innovations in the Built Environment grant is competitive with a maximum award of $80,000 and that the city’s matching funds (capped at $22,100) are intended to strengthen the application. Staff said the project would be shovel‑ready and able to start construction on Sept. 1, 2025, if funded. Staff recommended a single pickleball court beside the community center’s outdoor fitness area; 88 surveys had been received as of the meeting and 68 respondents supported the pickleball option, staff said. The second TSET opportunity, the Discovery Grant, could award up to $250,000 per year for up to three years and staff proposed using it to fund instructor salaries for free fitness and youth classes for an initial three‑year period.

Kelly, a city staff member who presented grant details, said the Innovations grant preference goes to projects that include matching funds and are shovel‑ready: “The matching funds that were approved by you moments ago … are…