Riverboat spring grants announced

The Washington YMCA hopes to start constructing a new aquatic facility in 2023. CEO Amy Schulte said a $3 million grant from the Riverboat Foundation this week kept the project on schedule. (Doug Brenneman/Union)

The city of Riverside received $100,000 for its Railroad Park playground upgrades, the first WCRF grant to the city since 2012. City officials said the park would open by TrekFest in June. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

The Washington County Riverboat Foundation announced its spring grant cycle recipients Wednesday night, handing out a total of $3,435,693 in awards to a spread of Southeast Iowa organizations, schools and local governments.

YMCA of Washington County was the biggest winner of the night, with a $3 million grant for the second phase of the organization’s aquatic facility.

“We’re really excited,” Washington County Y CEO Amy Schulte said. “$7.2 million is the total cost of the project now, this puts us at 70% of the funding that we need … (I’m) overwhelmed from the support.”

Schulte said the money was a huge boost.

“We were hoping to finish our fundraising by the end of 2022 so we could start building 2023, so this really keeps us in line with what our goals have been for the project,” she said. “We wouldn’t be able to do this without the support from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation, so it really means everything for us to stay on track after this gift.”

With the remaining 30% of fundraising to go, Schulte said the facility would seek a Destination Iowa grant. If successful, it would bring the group to the 95% mark.

“We would be left with about $350,000 to raise,” she said. “That would pretty much finish out our fundraising, but we have to get through that process first.”

The city of Riverside was another big local winner, walking away with $100,044 for its Railroad Park playground.

“The total project is bid out at $586,000 … we got half of what we asked for, and we were ecstatic,” Riverside City Clerk Becky LaRoche said. “It’s not taxpayer money.”

The playground is nearly complete: the only step left is laying down the soft-fall surfacing, according to LaRoche.

“It’s supposed to be done, they’ve promised, before TrekFest,” she said. “We’re going to have a grand reopening ribbon cutting Friday of TrekFest.”

Other highlights on the list include $45,378 to the Hills fire department for air packs, $45,967 to the Englert Theatre for a new projector, and almost $34,000 to Opera House Inc. in What Cheer for building upgrades. A representative from WCRF did not immediately reply to a request for comments.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com