Gunnison seeks funding for recreational projects

GUNNISON—Gunnison City leaders are seeking grant funding to help finance three city recreation projects.

Dennis Marker, Gunnison City administrator, presented the city council with a summary of the grant opportunities during its Mar. 5 council meeting. The council then gave Marker the authorization to submit the grant applications.

The most expensive project, with an estimated cost of $455,000, is remodeling of the sport court at the city park.

The remodeled sport court would feature a new concrete surface with three pickleball courts and three basketball hoops, and new lighting around the court.

The council also discussed moving the basketball court to the north side of the sport court from its current location on the south side. The move would save the city money—the new fencing on the north side of the court would be built to a lower height because it wouldn’t be needed to stop the basketballs from bouncing out into the street.

Gunnison City is seeking a $250,000 grant from the state to fund 55% of the project, with the remaining 45% coming from the city and local fundraising efforts.

Marker said the city could use funds raised from the Fourth of July auction both last year and this year to help pay for the project. Using these funds, estimated at $50,000, “would be a good match,” Marker said. “The [grant] committee likes to see that funds are coming from somewhere else other than just the city.”

If the city explains to the committee the funds are coming from a community auction, and “the community supports this [project], that gives a stronger argument,” Marker said.

Marker also said the city could seek donations from local businesses and potentially raise another $25,000.

The city would also complete $30,000 worth of labor on the project. With the grant, fundraising and in-kind labor, the city would still need about “$100,000 in cash to make the project work,” Marker said.

The city is planning to move $100,000 from a reserve account in the city budget, used to build savings in the past couple years for a major roof repair at the city pool, Lori Nay, Gunnison City mayor said during the council meeting.

Estimates to complete the roof repair have been as high as $600,000, Marker said in an interview, and the account currently holds over $400,000.

Referring to the sport court project, Nay said, “[This is] something we’ve wanted to do for at least 20 years.”

“I think our community is going to love it,” Councilwoman Stella Hill said.

“It will look bright, and it’ll be vibrant, it will give a lot of pop to our park,” Councilman Robert Andersen said.

The city is also planning to remodel the bathrooms at the park, but the council said a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is a preferable funding source for the project. The CDBG application period is closed for this year, but the application for 2026 funding opens in October 2025.

The two additional projects for which the city is seeking grant funding are the design phase of extending the 200 West Trail connection system north to the base of the G-Hill and building a parking area on the northwest side of the G-Hill.

The parking area would provide more space for G-Hill users year-round and for participants in the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) race Gunnison City plans to host annually.

The city is seeking $24,000 in grant funding for the trail design and $30,000 for the parking area.

If awarded these grants, the city would need to spend around $11,500 on the trail system extension and just under $16,000 for the parking area. These funds are also planned to come from the reserve account, Marker said.