The Metropolis of Soldotna is seeking to take outside recreation on the go utilizing roughly $50,000 in grant funds.
The funds, made accessible through a grant alternative by way of the Alaska Division of Well being and Social Companies, can be found by way of June of 2024 and are supposed to help the creating “healthy and equitable” communities in Alaska.
Via this system, the Metropolis of Soldotna will obtain about $26,000 instantly, in addition to about $26,000 from the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s allocation within the first yr, which the town has proposed utilizing for the acquisition of an enclosed trailer stuffed with leisure gear. That’s in accordance with supporting documentation and a venture proposal shared with the town council Wednesday.
“If approved, the City has proposed to use this grant funding to expand access to healthy outdoor recreational opportunities, through an enhanced Mobile Recreation program … ,” Assistant to the Metropolis Supervisor Laura Rhyner wrote in a Nov. 3 memo to Soldotna Metropolis Supervisor Stephanie Queen. “This is intended to achieve the grant’s stated goals of increasing access to healthy activities, by building on the success of existing Parks & Recreation programs and resources.”
Actions funded by way of this system will need to have an emphasis on “high risk, underserved population groups,” in accordance with a DHSS clarification of the grant program. These actions and techniques might embody increasing current COVID-19 mitigation companies to make sure ample baseline care for top danger populations disproportionately affected by COVID, bettering knowledge assortment and reporting for these disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, bettering entry to vaccines, or selling wholesome and equitable communities, amongst different issues.
“Strategies that are implemented should aim to build infrastructures that both improve health outcomes for higher risk underserved Alaskans in the current COVID-19 pandemic and set the foundation for future responses,” DHSS documentation says.
The acknowledged aim of Soldotna’s Cell Recreation Program is to convey free outside recreation alternatives to native parks and underserved communities. If accepted, the roughly $51,000 can be used to purchase an enclosed trailer outfitted with seasonal recreation gear that might be despatched to varied communities all year long.
“Because the City offers these events at no cost, they are very accessible to all area residents — even those without access to their own equipment, or without the ability to pay program fees that exist for other organized sport activities,” the town’s venture proposal says. “In addition to improving physical health, this program seeks to offer events that bring our community together in a safe environment, hopefully offering some support for people’s mental health as well.”
An estimated venture price range exhibits that the town might purchase, with lower than $52,000, 120 pairs of ice skates with delivery, the enclosed trailer, moveable skate and bike ramps, big outside video games, rental helmets and skate storage racks, amongst different issues.
In its venture proposal for the grant, Soldotna highlighted previous actions supplied by the town, such because the weekly Household Skate occasions supplied at Arc Lake final winter, which introduced out lots of of group members weekly. Whereas that program offered a method for group members to assemble safely through the pandemic, the setup and tear down, metropolis paperwork say, was “time intensive” as a result of Soldotna lacks an environment friendly strategy to retailer such gear.
“A mobile recreation program will allow the Parks Department more flexibility and make it easier to offer numerous outdoor parks events, regularly throughout the year,” the venture proposal says.
The council accepted the introduction of laws accepting the grant funds throughout their Wednesday evening assembly. The identical laws might be up for a public listening to and last council vote on Dec. 1.
Town council additionally gave last approval Wednesday to laws accepting $100,000 from DHSS to increase hours and staffing on the COVID-19 vaccination clinic on the intersection of the Kenai Spur Freeway and the Sterling Freeway in Soldotna. These funds add to an current $195,000 the town obtained by way of the COVID-19 Neighborhood Funding Program.
Wednesday’s full assembly of the Soldotna Metropolis Council may be seen on the town’s web site at soldotna.org.
Attain reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.
