New Benches for Sunset Point

The deadline for the Hillsborough County Neighborhood Mini-Grant is quickly approaching. It is required to have a Neighborhood Conscensus Meeting before submitting the grant, so that no one person can control the process. It was advertised in the Outlook for August 1 at 1:00, and also posted on the main entrance sign. Snafu: The Outlook did not come out on July 30, as we had hoped.
Eleven good citizens ( three of whom are board members) showed up and made thoughtful contributions at the Grant Meeting this afternoon. We mentioned the possibility of purchasing more groundcover to help inhibit weed growth in the open areas on the Blvd Seven tropical garden. The favored (unanimous) option was purchasing four benches for Sunset Point. Several different kinds have been investigated and studied for durability in the full-sun/saltwater compatible location.
We hope to garner a crew of volunteers who will assemble the new benches, under the guidance of our maintenance crew. Volunteers can also stain or replace the boards on the existing benches. The Pelican Point benches can be painted by volunteers as well. In doing so, our park is contributing to the cost of this effort, even though we may not spend any money. One resident mentioned that our swings are in need of attention and replacement hardware. We can encourage volunteers to paint the swings after the maintenance crew repairs them.
The amount of the grant is $1500. We will be notified by the end of Sept or early Oct if we have been awarded the grant money. I hope to have the forms completed in the next few days. Wish us luck.