University Place: State Money Will Go Toward Parks

Some help from the state Legislature will help University Place buy land for a future park.

And the city won't have to pay a dime.

Included in the state Legislature's capital budget is $800,000 for two University Place projects.

First, the state gave the community $750,000 for a park, according to The News Tribune. Patch checked with Gary Cooper, the city's public works and parks director, who confirmed that the city learned that it had won the funding this week.

The money will help buy a piece of land

He said news of the state money means the city can keep the $65,000 it was planning to spend.

"I will work with them to see if we can revise our application for $65,000," he told Patch. "If successful, it would make the property 100-percent grant funded, leaving the $65,000 balance in the Parks fund."

"This is a new one for me, but it shows how strong our application was for both grant-funding agencies to agree that this property is of high public value and worth funding."

The city hasn’t produced a master site plan for the property, but it hopes to build ball fields, a picnic shelter and trails in the wetland area while preserving most of its natural amenities.

Also, lawmakers awarded $100,000 for a playground in University Place, according to the newspaper.

That project is likely the , Cooper said.

Volunteers are scheduled to literally build the $160,000, 1,200-square-foot playground from the ground up in September, everything from the foundation to its walking bridge.