SIDNEY, NE — The City of Sidney is chipping in to help bring a new playground to Legion Park.
At Tuesday’s city council meeting, the city council voted unanimously to donate $40,000 of the city’s ACE funds to the project.
The city receives ACE funds as part of the Public Alliance for Community Energy’s revenue return program. The city has used these funds for park-related projects in the past, including installing new lights at the softball fields in Legion Park — a project that is near completion.
Sidney Park Project board members Sarah Sinnett and Ally Benzel were at Tuesday’s meeting. They told the council they are in the process of writing and submitting grants. Most money donated so far has been through private donors.
“We do have a decent amount of funds committed so far,” Sinnett said. “Now that will kick off the grant writing process as well. They kind of want to see money in the bank before you start applying for grants. Now that we have money in the bank, that writing is really going to start as well. We’re making good progress on that so far.”
Benzel and Sinnett said they need to raise $656,000 to have everything covered for the project. They hope the project will be completed by Spring of 2022.
The Sidney Park Project is spearheaded by a group of parents who want to see the park upgraded to accommodate kids of all ability levels and ages.
For more information on the Sidney Park Project, including a video of the proposed playground, go to sidneyparkproject.com.
