Money is headed to Lake Arthur to help fund park improvements.

The town received a $225,000 grant from the Love Louisiana Outdoors Program, funded with Community Development Block Grant-COVID from the CARES Act. The grant was initially submitted to the state last year by former mayor Sherry Crochet.

Current Mayor Poncho Lejeune said the funds will be used to purchase and install additional playground equipment at Lake Arthur Park located at the corner of Arthur Avenue and Lake Street and West End Ballpark located on the corner of Iowa Avenue and Sixth Street.

“I’m very excited to know that we will be able to add more playground equipment and synthetic bark under the playground equipment which will make it safer for our children,” Lejeune said.

The goal of the grant is to have applicants use the money to provide suitable space for activity to encourage physical distancing and support social distancing guidance.

“Any time you can make improvements to the park it will help give children more to do and to get them off their cell phones and video games and help burn some calories.”

Bids for the park improvement project will be opened at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 16.

Lejeune said he would like to include public participation in selecting what equipment and improvements will be made to the parks.

“Once the bids are accepted we can meet with the company and decide what we want,” he said. “We already have had some citizens give us input, but I would like to hear from more people.”

Lejeune hopes to have the park improvements completed by summer.

The Love Louisiana Outdoors Program focuses on municipalities and parishes that have a population of at least 51 percent low/moderate income persons, based on HUD Summary Data.