Consultant urges county to pursue Blue Cross Healthy Places grant for Redburn Springs park

Crystal Justice, owner of Justice Business Solutions, told the Public Works committee that the Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthy Places program is a viable source of capital for park improvements and urged the county to prepare a community-driven plan to be competitive in next year’s grant cycle.

Justice said the program pairs grant recipients with engineers and playground vendors to produce custom projects and cited a recent selection for the park identified in the presentation as “Red Bull and Springs,” which she said came with an $879,000 capital investment and a $120,000 maintenance fund covering 10 years. “That was $879,000 investment in Red Bull and Springs, and it came with $120,000 maintenance fund for 10 years,” Justice said.

She described the application requirements: applicants must be a government entity or nonprofit that owns the project site, provide a narrative demonstrating community benefits, and work one-on-one with engineers to develop suitable designs. Justice said the grant window opens annually Aug. 1 and closes Aug. 31 and recommended the county assemble a clear, single proposal rather than multiple options so the narrative can be tightly focused. “I want the community to narrow it down to one idea ultimately. Because I want to put all of my energy into selling that,” she said.

Committee members noted existing planning work — a 2019 park master plan and past community surveys — and discussed updating public input. Justice suggested a short survey or a public meeting to confirm priorities, and she offered consulting help and to work with the mayor’s office on ownership documents and application paperwork.

Justice said projects under the program are tailored to local context and gave examples such as playgrounds, pickleball courts, tennis and basketball court resurfacing, and more expansive park investments in larger communities. She advised the committee to review sample projects on the program’s website and to coordinate an internal lead to shepherd the application.

Next steps: committee members agreed to follow up with a parks-focused meeting to select a prioritized project and to keep Justice engaged on the timeline for next year’s application window.