State Representative Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, and the Sycamore Park District announced today that the Reston Ponds Park project has been awarded a state grant in the amount of $240,300 from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ (IDNR) Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) program.
Plans for the Reston Ponds Park project at the intersection of Becker Place and Parkside Drive in Sycamore feature a dynamic 12-acre space with recreation opportunities for all ages. The grant will fund development of a playground, small loop trail, picnic shelter, soccer field, one pickleball court, a native landscaping buffer, and educational signs, with additional amenities including a second pickleball court, large loop trail, tennis court, basketball court, fitness equipment, and a parking lot phased in over the coming years. The park’s location is easily accessible by foot or bicycle from the surrounding neighborhoods, and, with a small parking lot, will also welcome the entire community to come and enjoy the additional outdoor courts.
“I would like to thank Representative Keicher and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for their support of our project,” said Jonelle Bailey, Executive Director of the Sycamore Park District. “Our team here at the park district has worked very hard to plan this exceptional recreation space for our community and we are all very excited to continue moving forward and see the project through to completion.”
“When we say ‘Life Offers More in Sycamore’ that phrase is most fully demonstrated by our outstanding park district and their commitment to our community,” Representative Keicher said. “I was pleased to support the park district’s application for a state grant to develop the Reston Ponds Park project and congratulate Jonelle Bailey and her team on their well-deserved success.”
The OSLAD program is a state-financed grant program that provides funding assistance to local government agencies for acquisition and/or development of land for public outdoor recreation areas. OSLAD is a matching program that provides an advance payment (for development projects only) that is 50 percent of the grant award amount shortly after the grant agreement is executed. The local agency must demonstrate and possess the ability to finance the remaining costs of an approved project prior to receipt of remaining grant funds.
For questions or more information, please call Representative Keicher’s office at (815) 748-3494.