Tuesday night the council authorized Diane Wilson to start the paperwork for the grant. It has to be turned in to the Department of Tourism by Jan. 21.
City manager Ted Graham called Nichols Park the, "hallmark for the town." He said a lot of work has been done in the past two years reclaiming the beach area as well as brush cleanup and even expansion of the disc golf course from 18 to 27 holes.
If approved, the grant would require the city to provide half of the funding, $150,000, through in-kind work or actual money expended.Wilson, a resident of Cromwell, said she was unaware of the park until she started talking with Graham. "It is a treasure you have here and would not take a lot to turn it into something good."
She said the Department of Tourism usually gets $600,000 each year to be given for grants. "They don't fund one big project but $150,000 is not out of reach."
Graham said a priority for the grant would be refurbishing the nearly 80-year-old bathhouse. He pointed out it needed roof work as well as electrical, graffiti removal and work on the restrooms, tables and walkways.
Still facing city officials would be work on the other pavilions and rehabilitation of the former caretaker's house.
Early in 2015 Graham first brought up the idea of placing inflatable recreational devices at Nichols. (See that story describing the project here.)
Calling it the, "low hanging fruit to have a water park," Graham said that could turn into a revenue generating opportunity for the city.
He said a representative from one of the companies that furnish those type of devices came to Nichols Park recently and gave him some ideas how to keep the beach open to the public yet provide the recreational area that could be a pay per use.
Wilson said she has written grant applications for similar water parks. Graham said he would rather not tie the inflatables into the grant.
City attorney Lou Ann Moudy said the operation of such a recreational area would have to be handled by city employees or through a contract with an individual.
Council members approved the $500 initial charge for Wilson to start writing the grant application.
Video of the council meeting can be seen here.
