Arapahoe County staff recommend $5.5M Open Spaces allocation, raise standard grant cap

Arapahoe County Open Spaces staff recommended keeping next year’s grant program funding at $5,500,000 and proposed raising the cap for standard grants from $600,000 to $750,000, the first increase to that ceiling since 2023.

"We awarded a little over $4,500,000 for projects around the county," Sandy Bottoms told commissioners during the Sept. 28 study session. Bottoms described a grantee survey and the county’s fund‑balance and revenue projections as the basis for the 2027 recommendations.

Staff explained the recommendation would let larger projects proceed in a single phase rather than be split across multiple grant rounds, which they said was a frequent request from larger applicants. The county recommended leaving small and planning grant caps at $150,000, and keeping match requirements at 25% for standard and major grants and 10% for small and planning grants.

Commissioner Jessica Campbell pressed staff on whether proposed increases would meaningfully offset inflation for smaller projects and whether the county had considered proportionate changes for small grants. Bottoms said grantee feedback did not show requests to increase small or planning caps and that larger applicants were the ones seeking higher ceilings.

Staff also told the board the Open Spaces fund balance is maintained at roughly 12% of open‑space sales‑tax revenue and that about half of active grant projects request time extensions, a factor the county continues to consider in setting grant timelines.

No formal vote was recorded in the study session; the discussion concluded with board support for continued staff work on the program’s rules and possible targeted solicitations for exceptionally large projects.