News Photo by Steve Schulwitz A strip of yellow caution tape wrapped around the steps prevents Andrew Steltzer from climbing to the top of the playset because it is unsafe. The Alpena Lions Club is seeking $150,000 from the Alpena County Youth and Recreation Committee to replace the old and worn-out playground equipment.

ALPENA — The Alpena County Youth and Recreation Committee will have about $500,000 to allocate toward local recreational projects in 2025.

The problem is the committee received more than $1 million worth of grant requests. It will be up to the committee to determine who gets funding, who doesn’t, who gets the entire amount requested, and who only gets a portion.

The committee received 38 grant applications.

The funding comes from a countywide property tax that costs the owner of a $100,000 home about $25 annually and is slated to expire in 2026.

The list of project proposals committee Chairman Tony Suszek sent to local media outlets shows three grant requests of $100,000 or more, including revitalizing McRae Park, providing operating money for the Plaza Pool, reconstructing the tennis courts and basketball courts at Bay View Park, and more. Suszek said a full basketball court will be built if the project is allocated money and there will be a blend of tennis and pickleball courts redone at the park.

Nearly two dozen funding requests seek more than $10,000, many of which were in the $20,000 to $50,000 range.

Suszek said the quality of this year’s requests is top-notch and admitted the committee will have a hard time deciding on how the tax money is allocated. He said each committee member reviews each project proposal several times and listens to in-person presentations about them. Then, he said, committee members score each project on a scale from zero to 10. He said most of the time, the projects that receive perfect or near-perfect scores receive all or a bulk of what their funding request was. He said typically scores of three or four receive little or zero money, and this year, there would be some projects that receive solid scores but won’t receive funding.

“With the quality of projects we have, I could see scores of six not getting any funding this year,” Suszek said. “It is going to be very competitive, which is good because the more competitive it is, the better projects we’ll get done.”

Suszek said groups, clubs, and organizations who don’t receive money next year, should continue to apply. He said each year, there are good projects that don’t make the cut. He said this year, the quality of projects is very strong, but next year, it may not be as competitive.

After reviewing the projects and determining the allocation amounts, the committee will present its recommendations to the Alpena County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 19. The commissioners need to approve the allocations recommended by the Youth and Recreation Committee for funding next year.

The millage, which was originally approved by voters in 2010, is for the sole purpose of providing recreational activities for Alpena County residents as well as recreational services and improvement or development of recreational sites.

It has been renewed each time it was presented to local voters since.

Without the tax, it is likely the Plaza Pool in Alpena would have to close and programs like 4H would be forced to make steep cuts in services and programs. The tax money also led to major improvements to local county-owned parks and helped local sports organizations keep pay-to-play fees down.

Susek said he believes the number of grant requests and the price tags attached to them shows there is still a large need for youth and recreation grants. So far, the committee and the county board are undecided if they intend to seek a renewal of the tax in 2026.

“We definitely have seen a lot of improvement made and helped a lot of people,” he said. “But, I think you can see there is still a great need for our help.”

Check out a document of the grant application list below. Viewing on mobile? Turn your device horizontally for the best viewing experience.