For Immediate Release
Contact persons:
Mayor Joe Mullins (870) 547-2476
Festival Chairman Mildred Beene (870) 547-2707
Many residents of Emerson have long dreamed of having a park in their city. That dream is one step nearer reality.
Mayor Joe Mullins announced Thursday he has received a letter from Governor Mike Huckabee stating that Emerson will receive a $40,000 grant to help build a park facility.
The grant is from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism’s “Facilities for Underdeveloped Neighborhoods” (FUN) grant program, designed for communities of 2,500 persons or less that currently have no park. No cash match is required.
“Many people in Emerson and the surrounding communities have worked extremely hard to see this happen,” said Mullins. “We applied for the grant, and the selection committee realized the effort that had been put forth, and saw fit to give the $40,000 grant to Emerson.”
The funds will be used to assist in the construction of a basketball court, playground equipment with impact area, pavilion, picnic tables, litter receptacles, parking, and barrier free access to the facilities.
In order to be eligible for the grant, the city had to already be in possession of a site on which to build the park. For many years, acquiring property for a park had been the main goal of the Emerson PurpleHull Pea Festival.
Then last June, property on the southeast corner of the intersection of U.S. Highway 79 and Arkansas Highway 98 was donated to the festival by Beatrice Emmert and family. This property was transferred to the city of Emerson for the purpose of turning it into a park. This also allowed the city of Emerson to apply for the FUN grant.
“We’re very grateful to the PurpleHull Pea Festival, and especially to the Emmert family,” added Mullins. “Without all those people who worked so hard all those years, and without the Emmert family, none of this would have ever been possible.”
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