Granting beauty: KRB offering funds for enhancement projects

"It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood."

Rowlett residents who wish to echo Fred Rogers' sentiment are invited to declare it visually by participating in a neighborhood enhancement project. As an incentive, Keep Rowlett Beautiful is offering grants of up to $1,000 for such projects.

"This is a matching grant, so however much they contribute is what we will match," said Martha Brown, KRB administrator.

Enhancement programs, according to KRB, are "gateway improvements or other public areas that are readily visible to the general public." They are also a way residents can leave a mark on their city while allowing others to enjoy the improvement.

Project proposals should include, among other things, a description of the project, financial details and a timeline. An application packet supplied by KRB contains details about the process.

"We have to have their budget, their breakdown. There are also some requirements," Brown said.

Those requirements include four criteria KRB use in considering grant awards. Twenty-five points are possible for each of the following: the project should be in a public area highly visible to both the public and the neighborhood; the applicants must demonstrate commitment in the form of free project labor, in-kind donations, volunteer efforts and ongoing long-term maintenance; the project should maximize the use of drought-tolerant/freeze-resistant native trees and/or landscaping; and the applicants should solicit expertise from local nurseries (or other legitimate sources) for advice and technical requirements.

The city's code enforcement and parks departments must both first sign off on the project before the neighborhood group can submit it to KRB for approval, and even before the group can purchase materials.

"The parks people look at it and make sure that it's a sustainable project -- you know, that it's not going to be something that's not really appropriate for our climate, or maybe it has to be watered four times a day, and they have no way to do that," Brown said.

"There are a lot of things that have to be filled out, and requirements to be met, but that's all in the application package," Brown said. "It sounds complicated, but it's really not. We want to encourage people to do it, because the money is there."

Completed application packets can be mailed to Keep Rowlett Beautiful, P.O. Box 1992, Rowlett, TX 75030-1992, or delivered between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Monday through Friday, to the KRB office at 4701 Rowlett Road. Keep Rowlett Beautiful will then evaluate the applications.

"Once the project is finished, then they submit the cost to us for reimbursement," Brown said.

For information or an application form, contact KRB at 972-463-3929 or email info@keeprowlettbeautiful.org.

Written on the application form are the words, "The better the neighborhood group organizes this project, the greater chance of being rewarded the grant."

Or, as Mr. Rogers might have put it, "Let's make the most of this beautiful day."




Grant criteria:

1. An area highly visible to both the public and neighborhood: 25 Points

2. Demonstrated neighborhood commitment: 25 Points

3. Use of drought-tolerant/freeze-resistant native landscaping: 25 Points

4. Use of expertise from local nurseries or other legitimate sources: 25 Points

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