AARP Community Challenge grant will create new Imperial mini-park

    Imperial city officials learned recently they had been successful with an AARP Community Challenge grant application.
    One of just three Nebraska cities awarded the AARP grant, the $15,000 in funds will help create a mini-park along West 7th Street in the empty lot west of the Imperial Police Department.
    Tyler Pribbeno, Imperial’s Community Development Director, submitted the application this spring and informed the city council last week Imperial received one of the grants.
    He envisions transforming the lot behind the police station “so it’s no longer vacant.”
    In the city’s grant application,  murals on buildings near the lot, benches, raised garden beds and a mosaic dragon for children to play on were among the amenities suggested for the mini-park.
    Possible shade structures could also be incorporated, Pribbeno said, as well as a “play space” for Jago, new police officer Chris Bustillos’ K9 partner.
    Pribbeno said the now-vacant lot could be a space for lunch or to “hang out” in the evenings with possibly a firepit available.
    “We want an inviting, welcoming space,” he said.
    Pribbeno said he worked with summer interns Isaac Archuleta and Joel Kreifels in developing some of the possibilities.
    He told council members there is no matching city funds required, but he indicated in the grant application that he hoped to add to the grant $2,500 donated privately, $2,500 from community foundations or non-profits and another $2,500 from the city, along with some volunteer work.
    “All of it depends on what we decide to do with the space and what these projects might cost,” he said.
    He anticipates the work to start later this year.
    Out of 3,500 applications received nationwide, only 244 grants were awarded, Pribbeno noted.
    Other Nebraska cities that received the AARP grant funds were Lawrence, for new park benches and accessible picnic tables, and Omaha for a mural, community gardens and seating on the North Omaha Trail.
    At their Aug. 2 meeting, the council approved the Memorandum of Understanding, accepting the AARP grant.