The Jefferson County Council recently freed up $370,000 in federal funding to help construct new pickleball courts and to ramp up local tourism marketing.
Of that, $300,000 will be used to fund improvements at the High Ridge Civic Center, 2700 Community Lane. The project includes two new outdoor pickleball courts, stormwater remediation and improvements to the center’s parking lot, said Tim Pigg, the county’s Parks and Recreation director.
Don Bolinger, treasurer of the Jefferson County Tourism Commission, said the other $70,000 will be used for a matching grant to promote the county’s tourist attractions.
The $370,000 comes from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
According to council documents, the county received $43,719,346 in ARPA funding, with half of the amount received in 2021 and the other half in 2022.
The council voted unanimously July 22 to approve the $370,000 expenditures.
Bolinger said the $70,000 will be combined with funding from local cities to match a $120,000 Missouri Division of Tourism grant, adding that the county’s support is instrumental in helping the committee secure the matching grant.
“Jefferson County stepped up to match those (local funds from municipalities) so we could use the full grant from the state of Missouri,” he said. “(The matching grant) will be used for everything from social media marketing, radio marketing, television commercials and billboards.
“Tourism benefits everybody. It promotes growth in our county – it helps businesses, gas stations, hotels, everything in our county – which, in turn, all comes back to the residents.”
More pickleball
The two new pickleball courts at the High Ridge Civic Center will be constructed next to the three existing multipurpose courts, Pigg said.
The existing courts are a combined 12,500 square feet and were finished in 2020. According to the Parks and Recreation website, the courts can also be used for basketball and in-line hockey.
It’s free to use the courts, and the center is open from dawn until dusk.
Pigg said he didn’t have a timeline for the project.
However, he said the department intends to seek bids from contractors soon.
“The pickleball enthusiasts up there have been pushing for it for quite some time,” Pigg said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have the major funding that all these other parks departments have. We can’t just turn on a dime and build something right away, so, here we are.”
The project also includes plans to improve the parking lot’s stormwater drainage system.
Pigg said the center has drainage problems around the pavilion and the perimeter fence in addition to the parking lot.
“Part of the reason why we’re having a water issue is, in the past, they would add just layers and layers of asphalt (in the parking lot) and then you have an area that’s too high and it holds all the water,” he said. “It’s funny because (the center) is the highest place in High Ridge, but it’s so flat up there – one of the only flat places in Jefferson County – so it holds water.”
More grant funding
With the funding from the county, the cities and the grant, the Tourism Commission will have a total of $240,000 it will use to spread the word about attractions in Jefferson County. That’s an increase of $140,000 over what the commission received last year to promote the county.
Last year, the commission was granted $50,000, which was matched by municipalities in the county. The commission has been using that $100,000 on social media marketing with some radio advertising mixed in.
Under the terms of the grant, advertising must be used at least 50 miles away from the county line to attract outsiders to the county.
Bolinger said this is the second year the commission has provided the Missouri Division of Tourism with analytics that determine how many visitors come to the county for tourism.
“And we’ve gone from a $50,000 grant to a $120,000 grant,” Bolinger said.
Bolinger said the commission has encouraged cities in the county to include $1 per resident in their budgets to go toward matching the grant, collecting a total of $58,688 from the cities of Arnold, Crystal City, De Soto, Festus, Herculaneum, Hillsboro, Kimmswick and Pevely.
The $70,000 provided by the county accounts for the Jefferson County residents who live in unincorporated areas, Bolinger said.
In return, he said the commission will give the cities back about two dollars’ worth of marketing, advertising, and event and community promotion.
Bolinger said the commission is currently working with city administrators, parks departments and business owners to get direction on how and where to promote county tourism, adding that the grant will continue to be used to create social media advertising.
The Missouri Division of Tourism also granted the commission a $2,500 grant for asset procurement, according to a written statement from the commission.
With the grant, the commission hired a local professional photographer to take photos around the county for advertising purposes.
The Tourism Commission maintains two websites that promote Jefferson County – showmejeffco.com, which spotlights attractions, lodging and shopping in the county, and showmejeffcoevents.com, which focuses on upcoming events.
“The Jefferson County Tourism Commission would like to thank all our contributors for their commitment and helping us in this journey,” the commission reported. “We are so excited to showcase Jefferson County and all there is to offer here.”
For more information, send an email to tourjctc@gmail.com.