State Grants $200K to upgrade Tequesta park

Tequesta has received $200,000 state grant to renovate and improve facilities at Constitution Park.  The grant matches the $200,000 the city had already set aside fro the park, bringing the total budget to $400,000. 

Constitution Park, located at 399 Seabrook Road, is the centerpiece of Tequesta’s Parks and Recreation Department, hosting community events including concerts, picnics, and basketball tournaments.

“The plans that we have for the park right now are uncertain,” said Greg Corbitt, Tequesta’s Parks and Recreation Director.  “We are going to address specific needs.  Currently, we have a gazebo in the park, and we’d like to address the needs there to accommodate our concerts in the park.  We’re going to address the needs of bathrooms.  We still haven’t really had a chance to put together some idea, speak to engineers and find out if things are feasible at his point.”

Currently, park patrons must use the restrooms within the Recreation Center.  Corbitt admitted to being a little surprised to receive the matching grant, given the state’s famously tight budget and the youth of the department.

“I couldn’t tell you (where they found the money),” he said.  “That’s a question for the governor, I guess.  It’s (the result of) a really tedious application process and a lot of following up in Tallahassee, pushing for the grant.  It was a surprise that we did get it, given that the Parks and Recreation Department has only been in existence for three years or so.”

Right now, the department is in the peak of its summer camp season and is preparing for the fall programs, not capital improvements.  “We have a whole set of programs slated for the fall for kids and adults and out senior population.  The new fiscal year starts Oct. 1, so the upgrades won’t start sooner, but could begin as soon as October.

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