Bluff council reviews FY26 grant spending, considers speeding ADA access to new playground

Bluff, Utah — At its July 14 work session, the Bluff Town Council reviewed FY26 grant spending for the Bluff Community Center and the BRICC renovation and discussed completing accessibility work at the town playground before an October grant award.

Malia Collins, town staff and the meeting’s minute taker, presented spreadsheets detailing project costs and said the town submitted a reimbursement request of about $123,000 for expenditures from FY2025–26 tied to the CPR playground grant. Collins said remaining playground work includes installing pickleball and a half-court basketball court and buying and installing ADA ramp/mats, which she estimated would cost about $8,000–$10,000. "Collins shared spreadsheets outlining project costs for Bluff Community Center projects & BRICC," the minutes record.

The council discussed options to ensure the playground becomes ADA-accessible sooner rather than later, including spending capital project funds ahead of the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation award process; Collins said the town had applied to that foundation for a $10,000 grant, with awards expected in October 2026. Council members also suggested smaller uses of funds such as perimeter landscaping and installing parking lot gates (about $250 each).

Collins briefed the council on a separate energy-efficiency lighting retrofit funded by a U.S. Department of Energy EECBG grant; she reported that the town did not spend the grant’s full amount and would not pursue additional spending for the roughly $3,000 that remained under that award. She also reviewed BRICC budget line items and funding sources — GOEO (architecture/engineering, asbestos mitigation, window replacement, selective demolition and fire suppression), EECBG (insulation and lighting), USDA (fire suppression materials) and Cultural Capital (fire suppression) — and said GOEO and USDA expenditures are complete and she is preparing closeout reimbursements. The BRICC renovation total, including a Congressional Designated Funds request, was listed at $3,153,256.00.

The council did not take action at the work session but requested follow-up details on timing and funding options. The maintenance-contract procurement and an appointment to Planning and Zoning were scheduled for formal action at the July 21 council meeting.

The council is expected to revisit funding decisions as reimbursements are finalized and grant award timing becomes firm.