GLOCESTER – More improvements are on the horizon for Glocester Memorial Park with the help of a $500,000 Outdoor Recreation Grant from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
Planned upgrades now include new pickleball courts, a paved walking trail and restriping of the existing tennis courts.
The recreation grant is one of 15 recently announced by Gov. Dan McKee, with funding totaling $5.7 million to go toward efforts statewide to acquire, develop or renovate outdoor recreational areas. Funded through the 2024 Green Bond and 2016 Green Economy Bond approved by Rhode Island voters, the latest grant round received 50 applications. The program has awarded more than 582 grants totaling more than $96 million since 1988.
Town Planner Karen Scott presented the Glocester project to the Town Council in September, receiving approval to submit the application and commitment of local matching funds. The grants require a 25 percent local contribution, expected to total around $166,000 for the Memorial Park project.
According to information discussed last year, the money will be used to create a roughly 0.25-mile paved walking path at the park, situated just behind the Glocester Senior Center. The RIDEM grant is also expected fund creation of six pickleball courts, complete landscaping improvements and convert some courts to dedicated tennis. Scott said last year that the total project cost would be $666,667.
“The recreation improvements included in this grant application stem directly from the town’s Recreation Master Planning process and represent priority projects identified through extensive public engagement,” Scott told NRI NOW this week. “This outreach included a community-wide survey, two public meetings, and consultations with sports organizations and town departments.”
The improvements come thanks to the latest grant obtained by the planner, who has success with several applications to fund recreation improvements in town. Glocester Memorial Park was built in 1997, and went largely unchanged for more than 20 years before Scott obtained the first $400,000 RIDEM recreation grant in 2020 for a previous round of improvements.
“These upgrades compliment newly completed amenities at GMP including a new playground, a large covered picnic pavilion, reconstruction of the existing basketball courts, new signage and a defined pedestrian connection via Sherman Lane to Chepachet Village,” said Scott.
RIDEM’s application process opens every two years, and Glocester’s recent $500,000 grant was the largest amount available for a single project in the latest round.
“Our local recreation grant program is one of most effective investments DEM makes from funds from the 2024 Green Bond and previous bonds that are always overwhelmingly supported by voters across the state,” said RIDEM Director Terry Gray in announcing the 15 recipients in March. “This grant program has funded new and improved playgrounds, ballfields, athletic facilities, and hiking trails in our neighborhoods in every city and town in Rhode Island. Getting outside, having fun, and connecting with nature give us all a chance to take a time out, enjoy some quiet, and support healthy lifestyles.”
“This latest round, like many before it, was highly competitive, with strong interest from municipalities statewide,” said Gray. “The projects funded this round will make a big difference to the quality of life in these communities. We look forward to working with all the selected applicants to make these projects a reality.”
The Rhode Island Recreation Resources Review Committee evaluated the applications using an open project selection process, according to RIDEM.
In announcing the grants, state officials noted that outdoor recreation generates $2.4 billion in consumer spending in Rhode Island and supports 24,000 local jobs, according to the Outdoor Industry Association.
Scott said the town is now waiting to execute the grant agreements with RIDEM. Once that is complete, final design and bid documents will be completed this summer, with construction of the new facilities to take place from fall of 2026 through fall of 2027. The planner said the final inspections and grant close out will take place by December of 2027.
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