City manager says state parks grant requires 50/50 match, council to seek Bedford County support

City Manager Scott Collins told the Shelbyville city council study session on Sept. 3 that the city has received a Local Parks and Recreation Fund award from the Department of Environmental Conservation and that the grant carries a local match requirement.

Collins said the award is "2 times 5,000,000" and described the match requirement as 50/50; he said that would require the city to provide roughly $2.5 million. Collins also said the council previously amended a motion to request Bedford County share in the matching contribution and that a unanimous roll-call vote had approved that amendment. He asked staff to prepare a formal resolution asking Bedford County to join the effort for consideration at next week's business meeting.

Why it matters: the grant is intended to fund local parks and recreation projects and would obligate significant local matching funds if enacted. Collins noted existing intergovernmental agreements (including mutual-use agreements with the Board of Education) that could factor into how facilities and costs are shared.

Council discussion focused on clarifying who benefits from the grant and how nonresident users of city recreation facilities factor into local funding. One council member observed that roughly half of facility users are nonresidents and that has historically borne on decisions about local match requirements. No final vote was taken at the study session; staff will present a prepared resolution asking Bedford County to participate at a future meeting.

Next steps: staff will draft and place a resolution on the upcoming business agenda asking Bedford County to join the city in the match. Because Collins' dollar figures were delivered verbally and are partially garbled in the transcript, the council and staff should confirm the official grant award letter and match amount before any binding commitment.