Royal City passed over for parks grant from state

ROYAL CITY — Royal City city officials are working on a backup plan after the city failed to receive a grant to expand Royal City Lions Park.

City officials had applied for a $500,000 grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office, but mayor Kent Anderson said during the July 20 Royal City City Council meeting the city didn’t make the cut.

City finance director Shilo Christensen said Friday the city was on the list of alternates, so there’s a small chance Royal City could get partial or full funding, but the city is ranked pretty low on the alternate list.

The land designated for development is adjacent to the park, and was purchased in 2018 with intention to expand it.

Christensen said that’s still the intention.

“It’s not if it’s going to be a park, it’s when,” he said.

The park borders Camelia Street Northwest, and the expansion, when it happens, will extend it to Acacia Street West. Anderson said in an earlier interview the first step will be planting grass and trees, then adding soccer fields and other amenities.

Royal City has adequate park space, according to its comprehensive plan, Christensen said, but city officials want to expand. The city has set aside $250,000 for further development of Lions Park.