Clearlake recreation division outlines grants, events and playground match opportunity

Tina, representing Clearlake’s Recreation Division, told the City Council during a first-quarter slideshow that the department has applied for several grants, is developing summer programs for children and seniors, and is planning a slate of community events including a circus, Movies in the Park and a concert series.

The update said the division applied for the Levitt Ant Grama grant, a “Game time grama” playground grant and is preparing an application for a Major League Baseball grant to help with new fields. On the playground opportunity, Tina said the private supplier would provide $75,000 in equipment if the city provides a $75,000 match; she also said that would amount to "a hundred and $40,000" when summarizing totals in the presentation.

The Recreation Division listed partnerships with local organizations — including Rotary, Hope Rising, Blue Zones, Clear Lake Campground, PEG TV, the Lake County Office of Education and the Lake County Chamber of Commerce — as part of efforts to grow program participation. Tina said a policies-and-procedures manual for the division is about 95% complete and that the department is boosting outreach through social media, radio and school and business flyers.

Council members asked several questions about events and funding. One council member asked whether having a dedicated recreation department helped with grant-seeking; Tina said having staff time to search for opportunities made a difference. She said she hopes the division will grow revenue over time to make more events self-sustaining, but added, "I don't think we're gonna be making a whole lot of revenue right away, but in time, that's my — that's my goal." (Tina)

On event coordination, council and staff confirmed the trunk-or-treat will be paired with a family movie night to increase attendance. The presentation also listed planned fundraising events such as a comedy fundraiser dinner and a 2023 concert series (as noted in the slideshow).

The Recreation Division’s next steps include confirming grant awards (Tina said she expected a playground grant confirmation soon), finalizing the policies manual and continuing outreach to increase attendance at scheduled events.

The council did not take formal action on the Recreation Division presentation; questions and answers concluded the segment and the meeting moved to public-comment procedures.