A state grant program will help the city pay for the construction of Gator Run Park in Weston.
A Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program grant became official earlier this month when Gov. Jeb Bush signed off on the 2002-03 state budget.
Broward County communities received $3.4 million from the state program for 20 projects, including $200,000 for the seven-acre Weston park, which will be built next to Gator Run Elementary School on Arvida Parkway.
The park’s total cost will be about $630,000. The state recreation grant can be used only for structural improvements. In its grant application, the city specified that the money would go toward building restrooms in the park.
The city is awaiting formal notice from the state, and must fill out additional grant paperwork. It applied for the grant last fall, and won’t receive official confirmation for a couple of more months.
The grant is the fifth that Weston has received through the state recreation program in the past three years. Last year, the 102-acre Broward County Regional Park at Weston and the 42-acre Tequesta Trace Park each qualified for the maximum grant of $200,000. In 2000, the Regional Park and Tequesta Trace each received a $150,000 grant, again the highest available award that year.
Weston must match the grant dollar-for-dollar. The city spends the money and completes the work, and then is reimbursed by the state.
Statewide, $27.1 million in state recreation grants were approved for 217 projects. Other south Broward grants went to Walnut Creek Park ($200,000) in Pembroke Pines; Rolling Oaks Park ($200,000) in Southwest Ranches; a sports complex ($100,000) in Cooper City; Betty Booth Roberts Park ($95,000) in Davie; and Oak Lake Park ($50,000) in Hollywood.
The grant program is part of the general appropriations package that Bush approved.
The state Bureau of Design and Recreation Services evaluates each eligible application according to established criteria and assigns a final score. Based on the scores, the Department of Environmental Protection submits a recommended priority list to the Florida Legislature.
The application for Gator Run Park, prepared by grants consultant Stan Hemphill, ranked No. 2 among 134 statewide projects proposed for the maximum grant of $200,000.
Nick Sortal can be reached at or 954-385-7906.
