news release
Indian River County Parks and Recreation staff offers two opportunities for the public to provide comments on proposed improvements to the Victor Hart Sr. Community Enhancement Complex and Gifford Aquatic Center. The Parks and Recreation Department seeks to obtain grant dollars to help make the proposed improvements a reality. The first opportunity was July 6.
The second opportunity will be a Public Workshop dedicated solely to discussion of the proposed improvements, and will be held at the Gifford Aquatic Center on July 27th at 6pm. Gifford Aquatic Center is located at 4895 43rd Avenue, Vero Beach, FL 32967. For more information about the workshop, please call Joseph Tilton, Recreation Manager, (772) 226-1746 or jtilton@ircgov.com.
Public Workshop guests will receive a tour of the facility and meet key staff involved with the grant development. “It’s our intention to obtain as much public feedback as possible so that the improvements serve the need and desires of the community,” said David Smith, the County’s Aquatics Manager.
Each year, the County looks to obtain grant funding for various projects outlined in the County’s Capital Improvement Element of the Comprehensive Plan. The Recreation and Open Space Element (Chapter 10) of the 2030 Comprehensive Plan (adopted August 16, 2016) outlines certain improvements based on population, demographics, and community needs. County funding including park impact fees, optional sales tax revenue, and programs funded by Municipal Service Taxing Unit revenues can be augmented using local, federal and state grants. The Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) generally opens a request for proposals shortly after the state budget is approved in July. In anticipation of that funding becoming available, the County proposes to apply for a FRDAP grant for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 for the Victor Hart Sr. Community Enhancement Complex and Gifford Aquatic Center. This grant funding would augment the County’s allocation of funds for a playground replacement, aquatic center slide replacement and splash pad at Gifford Aquatic Center, and a new Senior League score board at Lundy Senior Field.
“It’s important that we use our County resources wisely,” said Beth Powell, County Parks and Recreation Director, “and we can do that most effectively through known state and federal grant opportunities where the County has had a lot of success.”
The Aquatic Center has 5 lap lanes, a splash area for the existing waterslides, and a spray deck or splash pad. The facility is open year-round and has heaters, pool covers, and chillers to maintain ideal water temperatures. Many summer camps take advantage of the aquatic facility with more than 3,900 children booked this year as part of their summer camp programming. The estimated yearly attendance is approximately 27,000 visits. Swim lessons, babysitting certification, lifeguard certification courses, water safety instruction certification, and shallow water aerobics are all a part of existing programming benefiting the community.
For more information about ongoing programming including swim lessons, please call (772) 226-1746 or go to www.ircgov.com/parksandrecreation.
Indian River Guardian 