The city of Truesdale says it has big plans for Bruer Park, thanks to major grants from the state and local donors.

Bruer Park is the city’s first public recreation area, which it established in 2018. Currently sporting a pavilion, basketball hoop and wooden train for children to play on, most of the park remains unused green space.

But with a $118,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), city officials said the park will be built up with walkways, playground equipment and even new trees and plants for beautification.

The grant will come from DNR’s land and water conservation fund. It comes in the form of a 50/50 reimbursement, where the city gets repaid for half of what it spends on the park. Reimbursements cap at the $118,000 amount, officials explained.

That’s just one of the grants Truesdale was recently approved for to make public improvements.

“We applied for a lot of money this year and were blessed enough to get it,” said Mayor Chris Watson. “Without these grants, we’d be able to maintain roads, we’d be able to maintain payroll. But there’s really nothing left after that. Having these grants is key to our city growing and doing stuff for the community.”

Sometimes, waiting for grant funding means improvements like a playground are pushed back by a year or more. Watson said he has reassured more than one resident that the city has continued plans for upgrading Bruer Park.

The DNR grant will help pay for 850 feet of paved walking trail, playground equipment, half basketball court, additional parking, 15 trees, dozens of shrubs, flower beds, and a lighted flag pole.

“We wanted to make sure we had something for the kids and the community,” Watson said.

All together the estimated cost is a little over $236,000. The improvements are part of a master plan for fully developing the 1.5 acre park.

Separately, Truesdale has already received just under $6,000 from another DNR grant to purchase six new picnic tables and four benches made partly from recycled material. That grant paid for those purchases entirely, Watson said.

The city hopes to apply for a similar grant to install soft surfacing in the playground area made from recycled material, but City Administrator MaryLou Rainwater said that process wouldn’t start until next year at the earliest.

On top of those, Truesdale is also receiving a significant grant from a local organization that will be announced in the near future, Rainwater said.

Chad Eggen with Boonslick Regional Planning Commission said Truesdale is a good example of a small town that does things right and is responsible with its spending, but doesn’t have extra revenue to do special projects.

Eggen explained that Truesdale can still seek additional funding sources for its portion of the matching costs on state grants. That can include revenue from local donations or other grants.

Watson said community groups have already supported the park, such as the Knights of Columbus raising money for a basketball hoop and local Girl Scouts installing improvements. The wooden train at the park was built and donated by a Truesdale resident.