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Midway parks committee recommends Outdoor Recreation planning grant for donated Gardner property; Town Square prioritized
Summary
The Midway City Parks, Trails & Trees Committee on Jan. 27 recommended that the City Council authorize grant writer Nancy O’Toole to apply for an Outdoor Recreation Planning Grant for the 48-acre Gardner property and voted to prioritize Town Square renovations this year to maximize an existing $600,000 skating-rink grant.
The Midway City Parks, Trails & Trees Committee on Jan. 27 voted to recommend that the City Council authorize grant writer Nancy O’Toole to apply for an Outdoor Recreation Planning Grant to develop concept plans for the donated Gardner property and to prioritize Town Square renovations this year.
The motion, made by Lisa Barkdull and seconded by Krista Lewis, passed unanimously. Committee members discussed that the Outdoor Recreation Planning Grant carries no city match and would fund concept planning and outreach; those concepts would then become the basis for a future implementation grant to build any approved facilities.
Committee members weighed this against other needs in the parks system. Based on City Engineer recommendations the Committee typically advises a $45,000 Council budget allocation for Parks, Trails & Trees but discussed recommending $50,000 for the coming year. Nancy O’Toole and City Planner Katie Villani reported they inspected boardwalk trail sections off Cari Lane and near Midway Village and would like to pursue grant funds to replace those boardwalks, but they recommended deferring that application until next year so the city can maximize use of an existing $600,000 grant for the skating rink that must be spent within the next year.
The Gardner property is described in the minutes as a 48-acre parcel along South Center Street north of Tate Lane, donated to the city and held under a conservation easement; the planning grant opportunity would not require a city match. The Committee’s recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration and possible authorization so Nancy O’Toole can formally submit the planning-grant application.
The Committee also discussed resurfacing trails along Burgi Lane in 2026 after a planned water-line replacement, and Preston Broadhead (Public Works) noted conversations with the City Engineer about that timing. The Committee left the Garden-property planning-application motion as its primary actionable outcome of the meeting.
