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MENTONE – Mentone Town Council approved Wednesday going forward with several grants for phase two of the Mentzer Park upgrade project.
Clerk-Treasurer Amanda Yaprak said the total project cost is $280,000. Items possibly being added to the park include two pickleball courts, disc golf, a walking path, paving for the parking lot, a kitchenette, security cameras, picnic tables and trash receptacles and landscaping.
She said $160,000 will be requested through the Community Amenities Program (CAP) grant. Zach Dripps, director of operations & community development at Michiana Area Council of Governments, will submit an application for the CAP grant for the park upgrade project.
In order to move forward with the grant, Yaprak said a letter of commitment had to be sent, saying the town would use $20,000 of town money towards the grant. The letter will be submitted with the application.
Council President Jill Gross asked where the $20,000 would go. Yaprak said the money would fill in any financial gaps in the project.
The second grant Yaprak brought up for the park project was a grant that supports health and recreation through the Kosciusko County Community Foundation.
Yaprak requested submitting a letter of intent and application for the grant for a maximum of $20,000. She said it was not guaranteed the town would be awarded the full amount of the grant.
With the third grant she brought up, Yaprak said she met with a representative from the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority on a CreatINg Places grant.
The grant has a $50,000 cap that would be matched. The town would have to set a goal and crowd fund the portion of the grant that would be matched. The money would be matched up to $50,000 as long as the town meets its goal.
There are two options for how to crowd fund the money: gap funding and raising money for specific items for the park project. She said the gap funding would allow the town to crowd fund for the project as a whole.
There would be a website set up for the town at https://www.patronicity.com/creatingplaces to crowd fund the money, she said.
Yaprak said she would request to use a gap fund option for the money and set a goal of $50,000 for the park project through CreatINg Places.
The crowd funding project is expected to launch at the Easter egg hunt at the park.
In other business, the council:
• Tabled a decision about joining Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation this year.
• Awarded a bid of $206,334.50 to Gaunt and Son Asphalt Inc. for the 2026 roadwork project.
• Approved the town’s employee handbook.
