South Whidbey Parks and Recreation District is preparing for an Aug. 9 presentation to the Recreation and Conservation Office, or RCO, as part an application to score more than half a million dollars in grants to build a campground at Community Park.

The presentation is the second phase of the grant application process; the first phase required parks districts across the state to submit their application documents on July 8. Parks Director Doug Coutts said the RCO review committee’s decision on which district will be awarded the state grant money will be made in October.

The district has been working with RCO regarding improvements it can make to the grant application for an estimated $516,621 to funnel into the campground, and one thing is clear from the feedback they’ve received — highlighting the campground’s accessibility is key to earning the grant money.

Coutts and the project’s contracted landscape architect, Jim Brennan from J.A. Brennan Associates, have been meeting with RCO Outdoor Grants Manager Kyle Guzlas for tips on improving the application. Brennan said the feedback was positive but said Guzlas suggested to highlight certain areas of the plan, such as the design’s accommodation for people of all capabilities.

“We’re really taking that to heart,” Brennan said. “We are trying to put together some accessible campsites and come up with balancing costs to make it clear what the final dollar amount will be.”

Coutts said accessible campsites is a facet of the design the district has already planned to include, but Guzlas recommended to further highlight accessibility in the presentation to the RCO review committee. Coutts said not every campsite will be accessible per regulations, but the campground design will have a certain percentage of accessible sites.

According to Brennan, Guzlas suggested using the presentation to drive home how the campgrounds would benefit the local community and how it would be a boon for the South Whidbey economy. However, a facet of the plan that could contribute to the economic well-being of the area, the proposed amphitheater, has become a minor issue.

The proposed location for the amphitheater currently sits on a property line between two properties that the parks district owns. Coutts said the district will eventually reach out to an Island County representative to solve the issue moving forward, although that is far into the future since his priorities lie in the district’s presentation on Aug. 9.

“There’s a property line on the site, and we’d like to make an adjustment to remove it,” Coutts said. “I’ve reached out to the county to revise and make it one property.”

Receiving the grant money to move forward with the district’s plans to build campgrounds in Community Park would bring camping to the South End. After the closing of South Whidbey State Parks’ campsite, South Whidbey is lacking in campgrounds.

While it’s too early to tell where the district’s application stands in the field of applicants, Brennan is optimistic about his client’s application. He said the district has been a smart client, and they’ve been diligent throughout the application process.

“It’s always very competitive, but I think this is a great project that has seen great support from the community,” Brennan said. “Doug and the commissioners have made sound suggestions, so I’m pretty optimistic.”