The City of Hornell has accepted a $427,500 grant to make upgrades to Veterans Memorial Park at James Street. The grant comes from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation and includes adding splash pads at the pool, new tennis and basketball courts, and upgrades to playground equipment.
The city is providing a local match of $142,000 for these upgrades for a total investment of more than a half million dollars. The Hornell Area Family YMCA took over managing the city pool last summer, according to The Evening Tribune. CEO Kristoph Kocan anticipates the splash zone being very popular once up and running.
Hornell’s varsity tennis coach Jim Tobin is hoping upgrades to the tennis court will come with renewed interest in the sport amongst the community. Mayor John Buckley says he is excited about the new basketball courts as well.
“The basketball court really needs a facelift,” says Buckley.
The exact playground equipment that will be upgraded is unknown currently and will depend on price, something the city will get a better idea of during the bidding process. The city submitted a similar application to fund renovations for Michael C. Fucci Memorial Park, though this request was denied.
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