Hillman to Submit Grant Request for Emerick Park

The village of Hillman has until Monday to submit their request for a Spark Grant to receive upgrades to Emerick Park.

It’s something that they have been looking to do for a while, as Emerick Park is a popular gathering spot for the Hillman community. The village is planning on submitting a $250,000 grant to upgrade the over 2400 square feet of the park. Some of the upgrades they are looking to add are a wood fiber material matting, plastic playground equipment to replace the metal equipment, and a pickleball court. The goal is to modernize the park a bit, and make the equipment safer for the kids.

“This is something I’ve seen since I was a young kid, to see this old slide get updated, and the old climbing cage get moved around, and something else get put in there, it’s just super exciting,” says Jonathon Smith, manager of Emerick Park.

Smith knows that there will be heavy competition for the grants, but is optimistic that they’ll get it eventually.

“I have a pretty good feeling about it,” he said. “I mean, this is the first round, so if we don’t get picked on first round, there’s always more tries.”

The winners of round one for the grants will be announced in January of 2023, with the next two rounds in the spring and summer.