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City Council Approves Parks and Recreation Fund

The Columbia City Council approved the creation of a new Columbia Parks and Recreation Fund Monday. The fund will help the department seek donations from corporations to benefit different facilities and programs.

Mike Griggs, the Parks and Recreation director, said the department has to find other sources of revenue to meet increasing operating expenses due to lack of sales tax revenue in Colombia.

“Right now we are looking at it as a way to help generate some extra revenue to help those programs and facilities where we currently don't have adequate funding,” Griggs said.

Gabe Huffington, the park services manager, said that the fund will increase the level of maintenance for local parks, support recreational programming and attract more private donations.

“It gives people the opportunity to specifically donate for a project, so it is a foundation that gives us the flexibility to look at different things in our park system and make recommendations,” Huffington said.

Establishing Parks and Recreation’s own fund can also allow the department to solicit funds from places it couldn’t before, according to Huffington.

“If we look at a trust, for instance, it may be looking for a foundation to make a donation to. We would have that opportunity in place,” Huffington said.

The fund started with an anonymous $25,000 donation from a local business. Griggs said the department has to finish some legal paperwork before establishing the fund, but it is likely to be in place in June. Donors will have various ways to make contributions including paying by check and online payment.