Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

MONTEVALLO – Two of Montevallo’s public parks will benefit from a grant the city is receiving from the nonprofit organization AARP.

Montevallo was selected to receive a 2020 AARP Community Challenge grant in the amount of $29,544 for functional exercise equipment at Orr Park and George Dailey Park.

The city was one of 184 awardees with more than 2,800 applicants, according to Montevallo Sustainability Coordinator Olivia Barone, who shared the news during a City Council meeting on Monday, Aug. 24.

“Our ‘quick-action’ project will demonstrate changes and help build momentum to improve livability for residents of all ages, backgrounds and abilities right here in Montevallo,” Barone said. “We are incredibly proud that AARP selected the city of Montevallo to receive this grant. AARP is a nationwide leader on making neighborhoods, towns and cities more livable for all residents, and we are honored that they see the tangible value this project will bring to our community.”

All of George Dailey Park’s equipment will be ADA-compliant in keeping with the theme for the all-inclusive park, Barone said.

“We are incredibly proud to partner with Alabama’s grantees as they work to make immediate improvements in their communities, encourage promising ideas and jumpstart long-term change,” AARP Alabama State Director Candi Williams wrote in a press release. “Our goal at AARP Alabama is to support the efforts of our communities to be great places for people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities and the coronavirus pandemic has only underscored the importance of this work.”

The Community Challenge funds innovative projects that “inspire change in areas such as transportation, public spaces, housing, smart cities, civic engagement, coronavirus response and more,” according to AARP.

The new pieces of exercise equipment funded by the grant will be a part of an improvement project at George Dailey Park designed to make it fully accessible to all residents.

In July, the City Council approved for the mayor to enter into a contract with Kelly Landscaping to prepare the park construction documents on which bids for the project would be based.

Upgrades will include ADA-compliant restrooms and playground equipment.