Chelan Co. Receives $150K Grant for Malaga Community Park

Chelan County has received a $150,000 grant to make improvements to Malaga Community Park.

The grant was given by the Society for Ecological Restoration as part of their Standards-based Ecological Restoration in Action program.

County spokesperson Jill FitzSimmons says the grant will be used on a variety of projects.

"This is money that is going to be used on structural improvements, as well as environmental improvements, which is really the exciting part of this. The money is going to be used to restore that sagebrush steppe community that surrounds the park."

Some of the upgrades the money will facilitate at the 12-acre park are the installation of a modern, water-efficient irrigation system, planting of shade trees and grass, and the removal of debris, as well as the planting of native vegetation.

FitzSimmons says a majority of the work will take place in 2024.

"So people should watch for updates coming out next year when we're going to put out the call for volunteers to help us with some of the improvements, environmental restoration, and the construction projects."

The grant is being matched by a $160,000 contribution from Chelan County's American Rescue Plan fund, which the County plans to use to build restroom facilities at the park.

The Society for Ecological Restoration is partnering with Microsoft’s Datacenter Community Development team to provide the restoration and other park improvements as part of the Malaga Community Park revitalization project.

The park improvement project is being led by Chelan County Natural Resources.

The park was purchased in 2004 by the Malaga-Colockum Community Council and is maintained using limited resources and equipment.