Bryce Canyon City council approves resolution to apply for 2026 park grants, pledges up to $275,000 match

Bryce Canyon City Council voted to adopt Resolution 2026-1 authorizing the city to submit grant applications to the 2026 Land and Water Conservation Fund and the Utah Outdoor Recreation Grant to support improvements at Bryce Canyon City Park.

Speaker 3 read the resolution into the record, saying the city "supports and approves" submitting the grant applications and "is committed to providing the required matching funds identified in the grant application up to $275,000 to be allocated from the capital projects fund." The resolution text in the meeting also noted that the Land and Water Conservation Fund requires a 50/50 match.

Council discussion focused on the size of the overall project and the city’s share of costs. Speaker 3 summarized cost estimates provided by Maynard, giving a total project figure of approximately $950,072.50. Speaker 3 explained that, under a 50/50 match requirement, the city’s obligation could be roughly half of that total in a worst-case scenario, but that the grant(s) and available capital-projects funds were expected to cover a substantial portion of the cost. Speaker 3 said the city currently has about $300,000 in the capital projects fund and expects to use up to $275,000 as the match identified in the application.

Speaker 2 moved to adopt the resolution; Speaker 1 seconded. The council approved the motion by voice vote (recorded as "Aye"). No formal recorded roll-call tally was entered in the transcript.

The resolution authorizes staff to pursue the grant applications; any award, contract, or final construction plan would require further council review and appropriation. The council did not adopt any additional financing measures at the meeting; Speaker 3 said the match would come from city funds rather than a loan.

Next steps identified in the discussion included finalizing grant application materials and confirming the capital-projects fund allocation if the grant is awarded. No implementation timeline or grant award date was recorded in the transcript.