Red Bay receives $215,625 grant for Family Fun Park

(Reprinted with permission of the Red Bay News)

Christmas in July apparently is a real thing.

Just two weeks after receiving news of a major grant award from the State of Alabama for paving assistance, Mayor Charlene Fancher announced the city was notified of yet another grant awarded to the city.

This time, the city was awarded a grant of $215,625 from the United States Department of the Interior, through the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). The grant will assist in repairs and improvements as Red Bay’s Family Fun Park.

Combined with the $350,000 grant announced in July through the Rebuild Alabama Act, the city has been awarded more than a half million dollars of grant aid in less than a month – but the efforts by City Hall to obtain the grant aid has been going on for a lot longer than that. The grant was a long time coming for the city as it was first sought in 2023.

“This is more fantastic news for our city,” Fancher said. “This grant application was submitted to ADECA November 2023. We received notification from the State of Alabama that the application was sent to The National Park service in April 2024. We’re just now receiving final approval. That is how long and complex the grant application process can be.”

This grant, which is a 50/50 matching grant, will aid the city in making repairs and improvements to facilities at Red Bay’s Fun Park. Chief among the projects are upgrading the swimming pool slides, installing a pickleball court and a fenced dog park, and improving the storm drainage system. Additionally, the project entails extending the walking trail and adding signage.

The project is expected to cost a total of $431,250 and is projected to be completed by July 30, 2030.

Fancher had applied for the assistance through the National Park Service’s Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant program. The LWCF State and Local Assistance Program provides matching grants for state, tribe, and local park projects outside national park boundaries. According to a release from the National Park Service, LWCF grants are locally determined and competed at the state level through a process designed and managed by our state partners. These grants help build and protect a "seamless system of parks" from back-yard to back-country.